New Estimates of Southern Ocean Annual Net Community Production Revealed by BGC‐Argo Floats

Abstract Using an expanding Southern Ocean fleet of biogeochemical Argo (BGC‐Argo) floats, we developed a novel approach to estimate annual net community production (ANCP) by integrating subsurface oxygen drawdown from all available BGC‐Argo oxygen profiles. Our results suggest that, on average, 14%...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Jiaoyang Su, Christina Schallenberg, Tyler Rohr, Peter G. Strutton, Helen E. Phillips
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2022-08-01
Series:Geophysical Research Letters
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Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1029/2021GL097372
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Summary:Abstract Using an expanding Southern Ocean fleet of biogeochemical Argo (BGC‐Argo) floats, we developed a novel approach to estimate annual net community production (ANCP) by integrating subsurface oxygen drawdown from all available BGC‐Argo oxygen profiles. Our results suggest that, on average, 14% of remineralization occurs between 500 and 1,000 m and 15% occurs between the euphotic depth and 100 m. Using the improved methodology, we estimated total basin‐integrated ANCP in the Southern Ocean to be 3.89 GT C year−1 suggesting a more important role for the Southern Ocean in regulating oceanic carbon storage, atmospheric CO2 exchange and climate than previously assumed.
ISSN:0094-8276
1944-8007