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Significance of ocean carbonate budgets for the global carbon cycle
Author(s) -
HOLLIGAN PATRICK M.,
ROBERTSON JANE E.
Publication year - 1996
Publication title -
global change biology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 4.146
H-Index - 255
eISSN - 1365-2486
pISSN - 1354-1013
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-2486.1996.tb00053.x
Subject(s) - carbon cycle , carbonate , environmental science , carbon dioxide in earth's atmosphere , atmosphere (unit) , carbon dioxide , biota , carbon fibers , atmospheric carbon cycle , earth science , total inorganic carbon , ocean acidification , total organic carbon , oceanography , environmental chemistry , ecosystem , seawater , geology , climate change , chemistry , ecology , materials science , meteorology , geography , organic chemistry , composite number , composite material , biology
Changes in the trace gas composition of the atmosphere over glacial–interglacial cycles are linked to changes in the oceanic carbon cycle. This paper examines the role of biologically driven fluxes of organic and inorganic carbon in modifying the carbon dioxide chemistry of the oceans, and the corresponding implications for the partitioning of CO 2 between the atmosphere and ocean. Relevant details of the marine carbon system are presented together with an assessment of the significance of remineralization and dissolution processes. Recent estimates of the marine carbonate fluxes show significant uncertainties and inconsistencies which must be resolved in order to assess fully the role of the oceans' biota in the marine carbon system. Various types of ocean carbon cycle models have been developed in order to interpret the changes in past atmospheric carbon dioxide. Some take account of the role of the oceans' biota, focussing in the main on the cycling of organic matter. Relatively few have considered the role of the carbonate pump and the subtle interactions between organic and inorganic carbon cycling. The significance of carbonate formation and dissolution, and of the effects of global change on the marine carbonate system, for air–sea fluxes of CO 2 are discussed. Finally some recommendations for future research are made in order to improve our understanding of how spatial and temporal variation in marine carbonate fluxes, in conjunction with processes determining the oxidation and burial of organic matter in the oceans, affect levels of CO 2 in the atmosphere.