Biological carbon pump estimate based on multidecadal hydrographic data.

The transfer of photosynthetically produced organic carbon from surface to mesopelagic waters draws carbon dioxide from the atmosphere1. However, current observation-based estimates disagree on the strength of this biological carbon pump (BCP)2. Earth system models (ESMs) also exhibit a large spread of BCP estimates, indicating limited representations of the known carbon export pathways3. Here we use several decades of hydrographic observations to produce a top-down estimate of the strength of the BCP with an inverse biogeochemical model that implicitly accounts for all known export pathways. Our estimate of total organic carbon (TOC) export at 73.4 m (model euphotic zone depth) is 15.00 ± 1.12 Pg C year-1, with only two-thirds reaching 100 m depth owing to rapid remineralization of organic matter in the upper water column. Partitioned by sequestration time below the euphotic zone, τ, the globally integrated organic carbon production rate with τ > 3 months is 11.09 ± 1.02 Pg C year-1, dropping to 8.25 ± 0.30 Pg C year-1 for τ > 1 year, with 81% contributed by the non-advective-diffusive vertical flux owing to sinking particles and vertically migrating zooplankton. Nevertheless, export of organic carbon by mixing and other fluid transport of dissolved matter and suspended particles remains regionally important for meeting the respiratory carbon demand. Furthermore, the temperature dependence of the sequestration efficiency inferred from our inversion suggests that future global warming may intensify the recycling of organic matter in the upper ocean, potentially weakening the BCP.

Latitudinal gradient in the respiration quotient and the implications for ocean oxygen availability.

Climate-driven depletion of ocean oxygen strongly impacts the global cycles of carbon and nutrients as well as the survival of many animal species. One of the main uncertainties in predicting changes to marine oxygen levels is the regulation of the biological respiration demand associated with the biological pump. Derived from the Redfield ratio, the molar ratio of oxygen to organic carbon consumed during respiration (i.e., the respiration quotient, [Formula: see text]) is consistently assumed constant but rarely, if ever, measured. Using a prognostic Earth system model, we show that a 0.1 increase in the respiration quotient from 1.0 leads to a 2.3% decline in global oxygen, a large expansion of low-oxygen zones, additional water column denitrification of 38 Tg N/y, and the loss of fixed nitrogen and carbon production in the ocean. We then present direct chemical measurements of [Formula: see text] using a Pacific Ocean meridional transect crossing all major surface biome types. The observed [Formula: see text] has a positive correlation with temperature, and regional mean values differ significantly from Redfield proportions. Finally, an independent global inverse model analysis constrained with nutrients, oxygen, and carbon concentrations supports a positive temperature dependence of [Formula: see text] in exported organic matter. We provide evidence against the common assumption of a static biological link between the respiration of organic carbon and the consumption of oxygen. Furthermore, the model simulations suggest that a changing respiration quotient will impact multiple biogeochemical cycles and that future warming can lead to more intense deoxygenation than previously anticipated.

Convergent estimates of marine nitrogen fixation.

Uncertainty in the global patterns of marine nitrogen fixation limits our understanding of the response of the ocean's nitrogen and carbon cycles to environmental change. The geographical distribution of and ecological controls on nitrogen fixation are difficult to constrain with limited in situ measurements. Here we present convergent estimates of nitrogen fixation from an inverse biogeochemical and a prognostic ocean model. Our results demonstrate strong spatial variability in the nitrogen-to-phosphorus ratio of exported organic matter that greatly increases the global nitrogen-fixation rate (because phytoplankton manage with less phosphorus when it is in short supply). We find that the input of newly fixed nitrogen from microbial fixation and external inputs (atmospheric deposition and river fluxes) accounts for up to 50 per cent of carbon export in subtropical gyres. We also find that nitrogen fixation and denitrification are spatially decoupled but that nevertheless nitrogen sources and sinks appear to be balanced over the past few decades. Moreover, we propose a role for top-down zooplankton grazing control in shaping the global patterns of nitrogen fixation. Our findings suggest that biological carbon export in the ocean is higher than expected and that stabilizing nitrogen-cycle feedbacks are weaker than previously thought.