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Assessing the sensitivity of modeled air‐sea CO 2 exchange to the remineralization depth of particulate organic and inorganic carbon
Author(s) -
Schneider Birgit,
Bopp Laurent,
Gehlen Marion
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
global biogeochemical cycles
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.512
H-Index - 187
eISSN - 1944-9224
pISSN - 0886-6236
DOI - 10.1029/2007gb003100
Subject(s) - alkalinity , flux (metallurgy) , dissolved organic carbon , total inorganic carbon , particulates , biogeochemical cycle , remineralisation , biological pump , carbon fibers , environmental science , total organic carbon , atmosphere (unit) , carbon cycle , atmospheric sciences , biogeochemistry , particulate organic carbon , oceanography , carbon dioxide , environmental chemistry , chemistry , nutrient , geology , ecosystem , inorganic chemistry , phytoplankton , meteorology , materials science , ecology , physics , organic chemistry , biology , composite number , composite material , fluoride
To assess the sensitivity of surface ocean pCO 2 and air‐sea CO 2 fluxes to changes in the remineralization depth of particulate organic and inorganic carbon (POC, PIC), a biogeochemical ocean circulation model (PISCES) was run with different parameterizations for vertical particle fluxes. On the basis of fluxes of POC and PIC, productivity, export, and the distributions of nitrogen (NO 3 ), dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC), and alkalinity, a number of indices defined to estimate the efficiency of carbon transport away from the atmosphere are applied. With differing success for the respective indices the results show that the more efficient the vertical transport of organic carbon toward depth, the lower the surface ocean pCO 2 , the higher the air‐sea CO 2 flux, and the stronger the increase in the oceanic inventory of DIC. Along with POC flux it is important to consider variations in PIC flux, as the net effect of particle flux reorganizations on surface ocean pCO 2 is a combination of changes in DIC and alkalinity. The results demonstrate that changes in the mechanistic formulation of vertical particle fluxes have direct and indirect effects on surface ocean pCO 2 and may thus interact with the atmospheric CO 2 reservoir.