scholarly journals Seasonal flux patterns and carbon transport from low-oxygen eddies at the Cape Verde Ocean Observatory: lessons learned from a time series sediment trap study (2009–2016)

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (24) ◽  
pp. 6479-6500
Author(s):  
Gerhard Fischer ◽  
Oscar E. Romero ◽  
Johannes Karstensen ◽  
Karl-Heinz Baumann ◽  
Nasrollah Moradi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Organic Carbon ◽  
Carbon Flux ◽  
Particle Flux ◽  
Deep Ocean ◽  
Sediment Traps ◽  
Cape Verde ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Low Oxygen ◽  
Flux Dynamics ◽  
Local Enrichment

Abstract. Mesoscale eddies are abundant in the eastern tropical North Atlantic and act as oases for phytoplankton growth due to local enrichment of nutrients in otherwise oligotrophic waters. It is not clear whether these eddies can efficiently transfer organic carbon and other flux components to depth and if they are important for the marine carbon budget. Due to their transient and regionally restricted nature, measurements of eddies' contribution to bathypelagic particle flux are difficult to obtain. Rare observations of export flux associated with low-oxygen eddies have suggested efficient export from the surface to the deep ocean, indicating that organic carbon flux attenuation might be low. Here we report on particle flux dynamics north of the Cabo Verde islands at the oligotrophic Cape Verde Ocean Observatory (CVOO; approx. 17∘35′ N, 24∘15′ W). The CVOO site is located in the preferred pathways of highly productive eddies that ultimately originate from the Mauritanian upwelling region. Between 2009 and 2016, we collected biogenic and lithogenic particle fluxes with sediment traps moored at ca. 1 and 3 km water depths at the CVOO site. From concurrent hydrography and oxygen observations, we confirm earlier findings that highly productive eddies are characterized by colder and less saline waters and a low-oxygen signal as well. Overall, we observed quite consistent seasonal flux patterns during the passage of highly productive eddies in the winters of 2010, 2012 and 2016. We found flux increases at 3 km depth during October–November when the eddies approached CVOO and distinct flux peaks during February–March, clearly exceeding low oligotrophic background fluxes during winter 2011 and showing an enhanced particle flux seasonality. During spring, we observed a stepwise flux decrease leading to summer flux minima. The flux pattern of biogenic silicate (BSi) showed a stronger seasonality compared to organic carbon. Additionally, the deep fluxes of total mass showed an unusually higher seasonality compared to the 1 km traps. We assume that BSi and organic carbon/lithogenic material had different sources within the eddies. BSi-rich particles may originate at the eddy boundaries where large diatom aggregates are formed due to strong shear and turbulence, resulting in gravitational settling and, additionally, in an active local downward transport. Organic carbon associated with lithogenic material is assumed to originate from the interior of eddies or from mixed sources, both constituting smaller, dust-ballasted particles. Our findings suggest that the regularly passing highly productive eddies at CVOO repeatedly release characteristic flux signals to the bathypelagic zone during winter–spring seasons that are far above the oligotrophic background fluxes and sequester higher organic carbon than during oligotrophic settings. However, the reasons for a lower carbon flux attenuation below eddies remain elusive.

scholarly journals Seasonal flux patterns and carbon transport from low oxygen eddies at the Cape Verde Ocean Observatory: lessons learned from a time series sediment trap study (2009–2016)

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gerhard Fischer ◽  
Oscar Romero ◽  
Johannes Karstensen ◽  
Nasrollah Moradi ◽  
Morten Iversen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Organic Carbon ◽  
Carbon Flux ◽  
Particle Flux ◽  
Deep Ocean ◽  
Sediment Traps ◽  
Sine Wave ◽  
Cape Verde ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Low Oxygen ◽  
Flux Dynamics

Abstract. Mesoscale eddies are abundant in the eastern tropical North Atlantic and can form an oasis for phytoplankton growth due to local enrichment of nutrients in an otherwise oligotrophic ocean. It is not clear, whether these eddies can efficiently transfer organic carbon and other flux components to depth and if they are important for the marine carbon budget. Due to their transient and regionally restricted nature, measurements of eddies’ contribution to bathypelagic particle flux are difficult to obtain. The rare observations of export flux associated with low oxygen eddies have suggested efficient export from the surface to the deep ocean, indicating that organic carbon flux attenuation might be low. Here we report on particle flux dynamics north of the Cape Verde Islands at the oligotrophic Cape Verde Ocean Observatory (CVOO, approx. 17°35’ N/ 24°15’W). This region is a corridor for eddies and low-oxygen eddies regularly passing the position of CVOO between 2009 and 2016, while we collected biogenic and lithogenic particle flux with sediment traps moored at ca. 1 and 3 km water depth. Overall, we observed quite consistent sine-wave flux patterns during the passages of low oxygen eddies in the winters of 2010, 2012 and 2016. We found flux increases in 3 km depth in October-November when the eddies approached CVOO and distinct flux peaks in February–March, clearly exceeding low oligotrophic background fluxes in winter 2011 and showing an enhanced particle flux seasonality. During spring, we observed a stepwise flux decrease leading to summer flux minima. The flux pattern of biogenic silicate (BSi) shows a stronger seasonality compared to organic carbon. Additionally, the deep fluxes of total mass show an unusually higher seasonality compared to the 1 km traps. We assume that BSi and organic carbon/lithogenics had different sources within the eddies. BSi-rich particles may originate at the eddy boundaries where large diatom aggregates are formed due to strong shear, resulting in gravitational settling and, additionally, in an active local downward transport. Organic carbon associated with the lithogenic material is assumed to originate from the interior of eddies or from mixed sources both constituting smaller, dust-ballasted particles. Our findings suggest that the regularly passing low-oxygen Anticyclonic Modewater Eddies (ACME) at CVOO repeatedly release characteristic flux signals to the bathypelagic in the winter-spring season far above the oligotrophic background fluxes and sequester higher organic carbon than expected for oligotrophic settings. However, the reasons for a lower carbon flux attenuation below ACMEs remain elusive.

scholarly journals Sinking rates and ballast composition of particles in the Atlantic Ocean: implications for the organic carbon fluxes to the deep ocean

2009 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 85-102 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. Fischer ◽  
G. Karakaş
Keyword(s):  
Organic Carbon ◽  
Atlantic Ocean ◽  
Sediment Trap ◽  
Carbon Flux ◽  
Coastal Upwelling ◽  
Production Systems ◽  
Deep Ocean ◽  
Biogeochemical Model ◽  
Carbonate Content ◽  
Organic Carbon Flux

Abstract. The flux of materials to the deep sea is dominated by larger, organic-rich particles with sinking rates varying between a few meters and several hundred meters per day. Mineral ballast may regulate the transfer of organic matter and other components by determining the sinking rates, e.g. via particle density. We calculated particle sinking rates from mass flux patterns and alkenone measurements applying the results of sediment trap experiments from the Atlantic Ocean. We have indication for higher particle sinking rates in carbonate-dominated production systems when considering both regional and seasonal data. During a summer coccolithophorid bloom in the Cape Blanc coastal upwelling off Mauritania, particle sinking rates reached almost 570 m per day, most probably due the fast sedimentation of densely packed zooplankton fecal pellets, which transport high amounts of organic carbon associated with coccoliths to the deep ocean despite rather low production. During the recurring winter-spring blooms off NW Africa and in opal-rich production systems of the Southern Ocean, sinking rates of larger particles, most probably diatom aggregates, showed a tendency to lower values. However, there is no straightforward relationship between carbonate content and particle sinking rates. This could be due to the unknown composition of carbonate and/or the influence of particle size and shape on sinking rates. It also remains noticeable that the highest sinking rates occurred in dust-rich ocean regions off NW Africa, but this issue deserves further detailed field and laboratory investigations. We obtained increasing sinking rates with depth. By using a seven-compartment biogeochemical model, it was shown that the deep ocean organic carbon flux at a mesotrophic sediment trap site off Cape Blanc can be captured fairly well using seasonal variable particle sinking rates. Our model provides a total organic carbon flux of 0.29 Tg per year down to 3000 m off the NW African upwelling region between 5 and 35° N. Simple parameterisations of remineralisation and sinking rates in such models, however, limit their capability in reproducing the flux variation in the water column.

On the relationship between the vertical distribution-migration of zooplankton and the organic carbon flux, before, during and after convective events, in the open southern Adriatic Sea

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mirna Batistić ◽  
Rade Garić ◽  
Stefano Miserocchi ◽  
Leonardo Langone ◽  
Laura Ursella ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Organic Carbon ◽  
Carbon Flux ◽  
Adriatic Sea ◽  
Phytoplankton Bloom ◽  
Sediment Traps ◽  
Zooplankton Abundance ◽  
Backscatter Signal ◽  
Organic Carbon Flux ◽  
Long Term Study ◽  
The Relationship

<p>The Southern Adriatic (SA) is the deepest part of the Adriatic Sea (1242 m) and one of three sites of open-sea deep convection in the Mediterranean. Due to winter convection events, the dense water formation processes in the open SA result in a homogenization of the water column, which determines the nutrient input into the euphotic zone, enhances phytoplankton growth and consequently, the abundance of zooplankton.</p><p>By analyzing zooplankton samples, together with acoustic data (ADCP) and data from sediment traps (at 125 m and 1150 m) taken in the SA from November 2015 to June 2016, we investigated the relationship between the distribution of zooplankton abundance and the flow of organic carbon in the deep open southern Adriatic Sea. During the pre-convection period (November 2015), the highest organic carbon flux (C org flux) was found at both depth (125 m, 1150 m), which is probably related to the autumn phytoplankton bloom and consequently an increase in zooplankton abundance. During the winter mixing phase, a lower C org flux was recorded in the upper trap samples which was a consequence of the reduced growth of phytoplankton and the transport of the cells to the deeper aphotic layers; where some increase of org C flux in the lower trap was recorded. Thus, the deepest layers were enriched leading to a minimum vertical zooplankton-migration (DVM). In spring, during the post-convection period (March, April), high abundance of mesozooplankton, mostly copepods, was registered in the upper layer, as well as an evident increase of C org flux. Other species than copepods (which remain at the food rich surface), probably ostracods and euphausiids, played a significant role in the DVM because they are more abundant in the deeper layers. The increase in C org flux in the upper samples in May is in accordance with a recorded salp bloom (also evident through a strong backscatter signal). Salp fecal pellets were observed to contribute significantly to vertical carbon flux in various ocean regions.</p><p>The relationship between vertical zooplankton distribution, zooplankton migration and carbon export has generally been poorly studied in the Adriatic Sea. Preliminary results for the open SA are presented here, but for more accurate knowledge of this topic, a long term study is needed.</p>

scholarly journals Autonomous, high-resolution observations of particle flux in the oligotrophic ocean

2013 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 1229-1265 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. L. Estapa ◽  
K. Buesseler ◽  
E. Boss ◽  
G. Gerbi
Keyword(s):  
High Resolution ◽  
Carbon Flux ◽  
Particle Flux ◽  
Sediment Traps ◽  
Sargasso Sea ◽  
Power Law Model ◽  
Time Resolved ◽  
Horizontal Advection ◽  
Different Depths ◽  
Particle Export

Abstract. Observational gaps limit our understanding of particle flux attenuation through the upper mesopelagic because available measurements (sediment traps and radiochemical tracers) have limited temporal resolution, are labor-intensive, and require ship support. Here, we conceptually evaluate an autonomous, optical proxy-based method for high-resolution observations of particle flux. We present four continuous records of particle flux collected with autonomous, profiling floats in the western Sargasso Sea and the subtropical North Pacific, as well as one shorter record of depth-resolved particle flux near the Bermuda Atlantic Timeseries Study (BATS) and Oceanic Flux Program (OFP) sites. These observations illustrate strong variability in particle flux over very short (~1 day) timescales, but at longer timescales they reflect patterns of variability previously recorded during sediment trap timeseries. While particle flux attenuation at BATS/OFP agreed with the canonical power-law model when observations were averaged over a month, flux attenuation was highly variable on timescales of 1–3 days. Particle fluxes at different depths were decoupled from one another and from particle concentrations and chlorophyll fluorescence in the immediately-overlying surface water, consistent with horizontal advection of settling particles. We finally present an approach for calibrating this optical proxy in units of carbon flux, discuss in detail the related, inherent physical and optical assumptions, and look forward toward the requirements for the quantitative application of this method in highly time-resolved studies of particle export and flux attenuation.

scholarly journals FORAMINÍFEROS BENTÓNICOS RECIENTES EN SEDIMENTOS DE FONDO DE LA CUENCA DE PANAMÁ (PACÍFICO COLOMBIANO), COMO INDICADORES DE PRODUCTIVIDAD Y OXIGENACIÓN

2016 ◽  
Vol 32 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Julliet Betancur ◽  
Ignacio Martínez
Keyword(s):  
Organic Carbon ◽  
Deep Sea ◽  
Carbon Flux ◽  
Size Fraction ◽  
Low Oxygen ◽  
High Concentration ◽  
Organic Carbon Flux ◽  
Matter Flux ◽  
Costa Rica Dome ◽  
Foraminíferos Bentónicos

Thirteen deep-sea samples (core-tops) from the Panama Basin, Colombian Pacific, were analysed for benthonic foraminifera in the >150μm size fraction. Based on the microfaunal content, three zones are recognised in the Panama Basin: (1) northern euphrophic region (~8º to 5,5ºN), characterized by a high concentration of organic matter flux to the seafloor, oxygenated sediments, and influence of the Panama Bight and the Costa Rica Dome upwelling systems, (2) mesotrophic region (~5,5 to 2ºN), characterized by low fluxes of organic carbon to the seafloor, oxygenated sediments, terrigenous influence and fluctuations of the upwelling systems of the basin, and (3) southern euphotic region (south of ~2ºN), characterized by a larger organic carbon flux to the seafloor, low oxygen content (disoxia) and influence of the Equatorial Divergence.

scholarly journals Preservation of terrestrial organic carbon in marine sediments off shore Taiwan: mountain building and atmospheric carbon dioxide sequestration

2013 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 177-206
Author(s):  
S.-J. Kao ◽  
R. G. Hilton ◽  
K. Selvaraj ◽  
M. Dai ◽  
F. Zehetner ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Carbon Dioxide ◽  
Organic Carbon ◽  
Marine Sediments ◽  
Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide ◽  
Climatic Variability ◽  
Deep Ocean ◽  
Sediment Traps ◽  
Terrestrial Biosphere ◽  
Atmospheric Carbon ◽  
Carbon Dioxide Co2

Abstract. Geological sequestration of atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) can be achieved by the erosion of organic carbon (OC) from the terrestrial biosphere and its burial in long-lived marine sediments. Rivers on mountain islands of Oceania in the western Pacific have very high rates of OC export to the ocean, yet its preservation offshore remains poorly constrained. Here we use the OC content (Corg, %), radiocarbon (Δ14Corg) and stable isotope (δ13Corg) composition of sediments offshore Taiwan to assess the fate of terrestrial OC. We account for rock-derived fossil OC to assess the preservation of OC eroded from the terrestrial biosphere (non-fossil OC) during flood discharges (hyperpycnal river plumes) and when river inputs are dispersed more widely (hypopycnal). The Corg, Δ14Corg and δ13Corg of marine sediment traps and cores indicate that during flood discharges, terrestrial OC is transferred efficiently to the deep ocean and accumulates offshore with little evidence for terrestrial OC loss. In marine sediments fed by dispersive river inputs, the Corg, Δ14Corg and δ13Corg are consistent with mixing of marine OC and terrestrial OC and suggest that efficient preservation of terrestrial OC (> 70%) is also associated with hypopycnal delivery. Re-burial of fossil OC is pervasive. Our findings from Taiwan suggest that erosion and marine burial of terrestrial non-fossil OC may sequester > 8 TgC yr−1 across Oceania, a significant geological CO2 sink which requires better constraint. We postulate that mountain islands of Oceania provide strong link between tectonic uplift and the carbon cycle, one moderated by the climatic variability that controls terrestrial OC delivery to the ocean.

scholarly journals Role of plankton in the vertical flux in the East Siberian sea shelf

2019 ◽  
Vol 59 (5) ◽  
pp. 746-754
Author(s):  
A. V. Drits ◽  
A. F. Pasternak ◽  
M. D. Kravchishina ◽  
E. G. Arashkevich ◽  
I. N. Sukhanova ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Organic Carbon ◽  
Carbon Flux ◽  
Sediment Traps ◽  
River Plume ◽  
Vertical Flux ◽  
Shelf Area ◽  
Total Contribution ◽  
Organic Carbon Flux ◽  
East Siberian Sea

Role of plankton in the vertical flux in the East Siberian Sea was studied in the 69 cruise of the RV Akademik Mstislav Keldysh in September 2017. Vertical fluxes were measured in sediment traps samples collected in the area of Indigirka river plume and in the marine shelf area. Mass vertical flux and particulate organic carbon flux varied from 80 to 530 mg/м2/d and from 16 to 49 mgС/м2/d, accordingly. Phytoplankton in sediment traps was dominated by cysts and spores of diatoms and dinoflagellates. Phytoplankton flux increased with depths from 0.220.33 to 1.21.3 мgС/м2/d. Fecal pellet fluxes (712 mgС/м2/d) was almost similar at two studied stations and did not change with depth. Zooplankton in the traps was dominated by houses of larvacean and carcasses of copepods Jashnovia tolli and Calanus glacialis Flux of zooplankton varied from 3 to 17 mgС/m2/d. The influence of the continental runoff reflected in a decrease of the proportion of planktonogenic components in the vertical flux of organic carbon. In the river plume area their total contribution to organic carbon flux did not exceed 30%; on the marine shelf it reached 80%.

scholarly journals Global Ocean Particulate Organic Carbon Flux Merged with Satellite Parameters

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Colleen B. Mouw ◽  
Audrey Barnett ◽  
Galen A. McKinley ◽  
Lucas Gloege ◽  
Darren Pilcher
Keyword(s):  
Time Series ◽  
Organic Carbon ◽  
Particulate Organic Carbon ◽  
Net Primary Production ◽  
Mixed Layer Depth ◽  
Deep Ocean ◽  
Euphotic Zone ◽  
Sediment Traps ◽  
Global Ocean ◽  
Carbon Export

Abstract. Particulate organic carbon (POC) flux estimated from POC concentration observations from sediment traps and 234Th are compiled across the global ocean. The compilation includes six time series locations: CARIACO, K2, OSP, BATS, OFP and HOT. Efficiency of the biological pump of carbon to the deep ocean depends largely on biologically mediated export of carbon from the surface ocean and its remineralization with depth, thus biologically related parameters able to be estimated from satellite observations were merged at the POC observation sites. Satellite parameters include: net primary production, percent microplankton, sea surface temperature, photosynthetically active radiation, diffuse attenuation coefficient at 490 nm, euphotic zone depth, as well as, climatological mixed layer depth. 85 % of the observations across the globe are concentrated in the Northern Hemisphere with 44 % of the data record overlapping the satellite record. Time series sites accounted for 36 % of the data. 71 % of the data is measured at ≥ 500 m with the most common deployment depths between 1000 and 1500 m. This dataset is valuable for investigations of CO2 drawdown, carbon export, remineralization, and sequestration. The compiled data can be freely accessed at doi:10.1594/PANGAEA.855600.

scholarly journals Bathypelagic particle flux signatures from a suboxic eddy in the oligotrophic tropical North Atlantic: production, sedimentation and preservation

2016 ◽  
Vol 13 (11) ◽  
pp. 3203-3223 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gerhard Fischer ◽  
Johannes Karstensen ◽  
Oscar Romero ◽  
Karl-Heinz Baumann ◽  
Barbara Donner ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Organic Carbon ◽  
North Atlantic ◽  
Sediment Trap ◽  
Particle Flux ◽  
Mineral Dust ◽  
Deep Trap ◽  
Low Oxygen ◽  
Tight Coupling ◽  
Particle Focusing ◽  
Tropical North Atlantic

Abstract. Particle fluxes at the Cape Verde Ocean Observatory (CVOO) in the eastern tropical North Atlantic for the period December 2009 until May 2011 are discussed based on bathypelagic sediment trap time-series data collected at 1290 and 3439 m water depth. The typically oligotrophic particle flux pattern with weak seasonality is modified by the appearance of a highly productive and low oxygen (minimum concentration below 2 µmol kg−1 at 40 m depth) anticyclonic modewater eddy (ACME) in winter 2010. The eddy passage was accompanied by unusually high mass fluxes of up to 151 mg m−2 d−1, lasting from December 2009 to May 2010. Distinct biogenic silica (BSi) and organic carbon flux peaks of ∼ 15 and 13.3 mg m−2 d−1, respectively, were observed in February–March 2010 when the eddy approached the CVOO. The flux of the lithogenic component, mostly mineral dust, was well correlated with that of organic carbon, in particular in the deep trap samples, suggesting a tight coupling. The lithogenic ballasting obviously resulted in high particle settling rates and, thus, a fast transfer of epi-/meso-pelagic signatures to the bathypelagic traps. We suspect that the two- to three-fold increase in particle fluxes with depth as well as the tight coupling of mineral dust and organic carbon in the deep trap samples might be explained by particle focusing processes within the deeper part of the eddy. Molar C : N ratios of organic matter during the ACME passage were around 18 and 25 for the upper and lower trap samples, respectively. This suggests that some productivity under nutrient (nitrate) limitation occurred in the euphotic zone of the eddy in the beginning of 2010 or that a local nitrogen recycling took place. The δ15N record showed a decrease from 5.21 to 3.11 ‰ from January to March 2010, while the organic carbon and nitrogen fluxes increased. The causes of enhanced sedimentation from the eddy in February/March 2010 remain elusive, but nutrient depletion and/or an increased availability of dust as a ballast mineral for organic-rich aggregates might have contributed. Rapid remineralisation of sinking organic-rich particles could have contributed to oxygen depletion at shallow depth. Although the eddy formed in the West African coastal area in summer 2009, no indications of coastal flux signatures (e.g. from diatoms) were found in the sediment trap samples, confirming the assumption that the suboxia developed within the eddy en route. However, we could not detect biomarkers indicative of the presence of anammox (anaerobic ammonia oxidation) bacteria or green sulfur bacteria thriving in photic zone suboxia/hypoxia, i.e. ladderane fatty acids and isorenieratene derivatives, respectively. This could indicate that suboxic conditions in the eddy had recently developed and/or the respective bacterial stocks had not yet reached detection thresholds. Another explanation is that the fast-sinking organic-rich particles produced in the surface layer did not interact with bacteria from the suboxic zone below. Carbonate fluxes dropped from ∼ 52 to 21.4 mg m−2 d−1 from January to February 2010, respectively, mainly due to reduced contribution of shallow-dwelling planktonic foraminifera and pteropods. The deep-dwelling foraminifera Globorotalia menardii, however, showed a major flux peak in February 2010, most probably due to the suboxia/hypoxia. The low oxygen conditions forced at least some zooplankton to reduce diel vertical migration. Reduced “flux feeding” by zooplankton in the epipelagic could have contributed to the enhanced fluxes of organic materials to the bathypelagic traps during the eddy passage. Further studies are required on eddy-induced particle production and preservation processes and particle focusing.

scholarly journals Attenuation of sinking particulate organic carbon flux through the mesopelagic ocean

2015 ◽  
Vol 112 (4) ◽  
pp. 1089-1094 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chris M. Marsay ◽  
Richard J. Sanders ◽  
Stephanie A. Henson ◽  
Katsiaryna Pabortsava ◽  
Eric P. Achterberg ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Organic Carbon ◽  
Particulate Organic Carbon ◽  
Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide ◽  
Deep Ocean ◽  
Sediment Traps ◽  
Length Scale ◽  
Deep Sea Sediment ◽  
The North ◽  
Labile Fraction ◽  
Poc Flux

The biological carbon pump, which transports particulate organic carbon (POC) from the surface to the deep ocean, plays an important role in regulating atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) concentrations. We know very little about geographical variability in the remineralization depth of this sinking material and less about what controls such variability. Here we present previously unpublished profiles of mesopelagic POC flux derived from neutrally buoyant sediment traps deployed in the North Atlantic, from which we calculate the remineralization length scale for each site. Combining these results with corresponding data from the North Pacific, we show that the observed variability in attenuation of vertical POC flux can largely be explained by temperature, with shallower remineralization occurring in warmer waters. This is seemingly inconsistent with conclusions drawn from earlier analyses of deep-sea sediment trap and export flux data, which suggest lowest transfer efficiency at high latitudes. However, the two patterns can be reconciled by considering relatively intense remineralization of a labile fraction of material in warm waters, followed by efficient downward transfer of the remaining refractory fraction, while in cold environments, a larger labile fraction undergoes slower remineralization that continues over a longer length scale. Based on the observed relationship, future increases in ocean temperature will likely lead to shallower remineralization of POC and hence reduced storage of CO2 by the ocean.

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