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Ballasting by cryogenic gypsum enhances carbon export in a Phaeocystis under-ice bloom
- Source :
- Scientific Reports, Scientific Reports, Vol 8, Iss 1, Pp 1-9 (2018)
- Publication Year :
- 2018
- Publisher :
- Nature Research, 2018.
-
Abstract
- Mineral ballasting enhances carbon export from the surface to the deep ocean; however, little is known about the role of this process in the ice-covered Arctic Ocean. Here, we propose gypsum ballasting as a new mechanism that likely facilitated enhanced vertical carbon export from an under-ice phytoplankton bloom dominated by the haptophyte Phaeocystis. In the spring 2015 abundant gypsum crystals embedded in Phaeocystis aggregates were collected throughout the water column and on the sea floor at a depth below 2 km. Model predictions supported by isotopic signatures indicate that 2.7 g m−2 gypsum crystals were formed in sea ice at temperatures below −6.5 °C and released into the water column during sea ice melting. Our finding indicates that sea ice derived (cryogenic) gypsum is stable enough to survive export to the deep ocean and serves as an effective ballast mineral. Our findings also suggest a potentially important and previously unknown role of Phaeocystis in deep carbon export due to cryogenic gypsum ballasting. The rapidly changing Arctic sea ice regime might favour this gypsum gravity chute with potential consequences for carbon export and food partitioning between pelagic and benthic ecosystems.
- Subjects :
- 0106 biological sciences
Gypsum
010504 meteorology & atmospheric sciences
Science
engineering.material
01 natural sciences
Deep sea
Article
Water column
Sea ice
VDP::Mathematics and natural science: 400::Zoology and botany: 480::Marine biology: 497
0105 earth and related environmental sciences
geography
Multidisciplinary
geography.geographical_feature_category
GE
010604 marine biology & hydrobiology
Pelagic zone
3rd-DAS
VDP::Matematikk og Naturvitenskap: 400::Zoologiske og botaniske fag: 480::Marinbiologi: 497
Arctic ice pack
Oceanography
Arctic
Benthic zone
engineering
Medicine
Environmental science
GE Environmental Sciences
Subjects
Details
- Language :
- English
- Database :
- OpenAIRE
- Journal :
- Scientific Reports, Scientific Reports, Vol 8, Iss 1, Pp 1-9 (2018)
- Accession number :
- edsair.doi.dedup.....cb63ef971dbc8be944fb4d68ceab5bd9