Analysis of observations and sensitivity experiments with a new three-dimensional global model of stable carbon isotope cycling elucidate processes that control the distribution of delta C-13 of dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) in the contemporary and preindustrial ocean. Biological fractionation and the sinking of isotopically light delta C-13 organic matter from...
Photosynthetic production of organic matter by microscopic oceanic phytoplankton fuels ocean ecosystems
and contributes roughly half of the Earth's net primary production. For 13 years, the Sea-viewing Wide
Field-of-view Sensor (SeaWiFS) mission provided the first consistent, synoptic observations of global ocean
ecosystems. Changes in the surface chlorophyll concentration, the primary...
The diurnal fluctuations in solar irradiance impose a fundamental frequency on ocean biogeochemistry. Observations of the ocean carbon cycle at these frequencies are rare, but could be considerably expanded by measuring and interpreting the inherent optical properties. A method is presented to analyze diel cycles in particulate beam-attenuation coefficient (c[subscript...
Trichodesmium, a major colonial cyanobacterial nitrogen fixer, forms large blooms in NO₃-depleted tropical oceans and enhances CO₂ sequestration by the ocean due to its ability to fix dissolved dinitrogen. Thus, its importance in C and N cycles requires better estimates of its distribution at basin to global scales. However, existing...