Mesoscale Eddies Drive Increased Silica Export in the Subtropical Pacific Ocean
2007
Benitez-Nelson, Claudia R. | Bidigare, Robert R. | Dickey, Tommy D. | Landry, Michael R. | Leonard, Carrie L. | Brown, Susan L. | Nencioli, Francesco | Rii, Yoshimi M. | Maiti, Kanchan | Becker, Jamie W. | Bibby, Thomas S. | Black, Wil | Cai, Wei-Jun | Carlson, Craig A. | Chen, Feizhou | Kuwahara, Victor S. | Mahaffey, Claire | McAndrew, Patricia M. | Quay, Paul D. | Rappé, Michael S. | Selph, Karen E. | Simmons, Melinda P. | Yang, Eun Jin
Mesoscale eddies may play a critical role in ocean biogeochemistry by increasing nutrient supply, primary production, and efficiency of the biological pump, that is, the ratio of carbon export to primary production in otherwise nutrient-deficient waters. We examined a diatom bloom within a cold-core cyclonic eddy off Hawai`i. Eddy primary production, community biomass, and size composition were markedly enhanced but had little effect on the carbon export ratio. Instead, the system functioned as a selective silica pump. Strong trophic coupling and inefficient organic export may be general characteristics of community perturbation responses in the warm waters of the Pacific Ocean.
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