1. Microbial respiration in contrasting ocean provinces via high-frequency optode assays
- Author
-
Melanie R. Cohn, Brandon M. Stephens, Meredith G. Meyer, Garrett Sharpe, Alexandria K. Niebergall, Jason R. Graff, Nicolas Cassar, Adrian Marchetti, Craig A. Carlson, and Scott M. Gifford
- Subjects
microbial respiration ,dissolved oxygen ,optode ,size-fractionated ,marine ,ocean ,Science ,General. Including nature conservation, geographical distribution ,QH1-199.5 - Abstract
Microbial respiration is a critical component of the marine carbon cycle, determining the proportion of fixed carbon that is subject to remineralization as opposed to being available for export to the ocean depths. Despite its importance, methodological constraints have led to an inadequate understanding of this process, especially in low-activity oligotrophic and mesopelagic regions. Here, we quantify respiration rates as low as 0.2 µmol O2 L-1 d-1 in contrasting ocean productivity provinces using oxygen optode sensors to identify size-fractionated respiration trends. In the low productivity region of the North Pacific Ocean at Station Papa, surface whole water microbial respiration was relatively stable at 1.2 µmol O2 L-1 d-1. Below the surface, there was a decoupling between respiration and bacterial production that coincided with increased phytodetritus and small phytoplankton. Size-fractionated analysis revealed that cells
- Published
- 2024
- Full Text
- View/download PDF