Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, MA 02543, USA.
Applied Ocean Physics Laboratory, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA.
Science. 2015 Apr 10;348(6231):222-5. doi: 10.1126/science.1260062. Epub 2015 Mar 26.
The export of particulate organic carbon (POC) from the surface ocean to depth is traditionally ascribed to sinking. Here, we show that a dynamic eddying flow field subducts surface water with high concentrations of nonsinking POC. Autonomous observations made by gliders during the North Atlantic spring bloom reveal anomalous features at depths of 100 to 350 meters with elevated POC, chlorophyll, oxygen, and temperature-salinity characteristics of surface water. High-resolution modeling reveals that during the spring transition, intrusions of POC-rich surface water descend as coherent, 1- to 10-kilometer-scale filamentous features, often along the perimeter of eddies. Such a submesoscale eddy-driven flux of POC is unresolved in global carbon cycle models but can contribute as much as half of the total springtime export of POC from the highly productive subpolar oceans.
海洋表层向深处输出颗粒有机碳（POC）传统上归因于沉降作用。在这里，我们表明，一种动态的漩涡流场会使富含非沉降 POC 的表层水下沉。在北大西洋春季水华期间，由滑翔机自主进行的观测揭示了在 100 至 350 米深处的异常特征，这些特征具有高浓度的 POC、叶绿素、氧气以及表层水的温度盐度特性。高分辨率模型显示，在春季过渡期间，富含 POC 的表层水会以一致的、1 至 10 公里规模的丝状特征下降，这些特征通常沿着漩涡的边缘。这种亚中尺度的由漩涡驱动的 POC 通量在全球碳循环模型中无法解析，但它可能贡献了高生产力的副极地海洋中春季 POC 总输出量的一半之多。
