Journal
JOURNAL OF MARINE SYSTEMS
Volume 154, Issue -, Pages 233-242Publisher
ELSEVIER
DOI: 10.1016/j.jmarsys.2015.10.008
Keywords
Coastal-offshore transport; Upwelling filaments; Excess total organic carbon; Cape Ghir; NW Africa
Funding
- IMBER-endorsed project CAIBEX - Spanish Plan Nacional de I + D (MEC) [CTM2007-66408-CO2-02]
- project HOTMIX [CTM2011-30010-C02-01]
- project PUMP [CTM2012-33355]
- Agencia Canaria de Investigacion, Innovacion y Sociedad de la Informacion (ACIISI)
- Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (MICINN)
- Conselleria d'Educacio, Cultura i Universitats del Govern de les Illes Balears (Mallorca, Spain)
- European Social Fund
Ask authors/readers for more resources
The net coastal-ocean export of particulate organic carbon (POC), dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and chlorophyll a is studied in August 2009 at the Cape Ghir filament, a recurrent feature located within the NW African upwelling system. The estimated flux of excess total organic carbon (the non-refractory pools of DOC and POC) is about 2.1 x 10(9) kg C y(-1). DOC represents similar to 70% of the excess organic carbon in August 2009, during moderate upwelling. Assuming that this flux is representative of the range within a typical year, the yearly offshore net transport of total organic carbon would represent at least 29% of the primary production in this area. Since the Cape Ghir filament may extend hundreds of kilometers offshore, the associated seaward flux of organic carbon would contribute to the high microbial respiration rates reported from the nearby oligotrophic open ocean region. Our results illustrate that, when considering the regional carbon budgets of eastern boundary regions, it is imperative to take account of the offshore transport of organic matter in the numerous and recurrent upwelling filaments. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available