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Laterally Transported Particles From Margins Serve as a Major Carbon and Energy Source for Dark Ocean Ecosystems
Author(s) -
Shen Jiaming,
Jiao Nianzhi,
Dai Minhan,
Wang Haili,
Qiu Guoqiang,
Chen Jianfang,
Li Hongliang,
Kao ShuhJi,
Yang JinYu Terence,
Cai Pinghe,
Zhou Kuanbo,
Yang Weifeng,
Zhu Yifan,
Liu Zhiyu,
Chen Mingming,
Zuo Zuhui,
Gaye Birgit,
Wiesner Martin G.,
Zhang Yao
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
geophysical research letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.007
H-Index - 273
eISSN - 1944-8007
pISSN - 0094-8276
DOI - 10.1029/2020gl088971
Subject(s) - environmental science , biogeochemical cycle , deep sea , carbon fibers , photic zone , carbon cycle , total organic carbon , carbon sequestration , organic matter , oceanography , atmospheric carbon cycle , carbon fixation , total inorganic carbon , biogeochemistry , ecosystem , environmental chemistry , geology , phytoplankton , carbon dioxide , ecology , chemistry , materials science , nutrient , composite number , composite material , biology
Abstract Deep ocean microorganisms consume particulate organic matter that is produced in the surface ocean and exported to deeper depths. Such consumption not only enriches inorganic carbon in the deep ocean but also transforms organic carbon into recalcitrant forms, creating an alternative type of carbon sequestration. However, estimates of deep microbial carbon demand substantially exceed the available particulate organic carbon exported from the euphotic zone, resulting in an unbalanced dark ocean carbon budget. Here, we combined field‐based microbial activity parameters, integrated multiyear particle export flux data, sinking particle fluxes measured by sediment traps, and optical data from Biogeochemical‐Argo floats to quantify the main sources of organic carbon to the dark ocean. Laterally transported particles (including sinking and suspended particles) serve as a major energy source, which directly provide organic carbon and enhance new organic carbon production by dark carbon fixation, reconciling the mismatch in the regional carbon budget.