Document Type
Article
Department/Program
Virginia Institute of Marine Science
Publication Date
2010
Journal
Geophysical Research Letters
Volume
37
Abstract
Drifting cylindrical traps and the flux proxy Th-234 indicate more than an order of magnitude higher sinking fluxes of particulate carbon and Th-234 in January 2009 than measured by a time-series conical trap used regularly on the shelf of the west Antarctic Peninsula (WAP). The higher fluxes measured in this study have several implications for our understanding of the WAP ecosystem. Larger sinking fluxes result in a revised export efficiency of at least 10% (C flux/net primary production) and a requisite lower regeneration efficiency in surface waters. High fluxes also result in a large supply of sinking organic matter to support subsurface and benthic food webs on the continental shelf. These new findings call into question the magnitude of seasonal and interannual variability in particle flux and reaffirm the difficulty of using moored conical traps as a quantitative flux collector in shallow waters. Citation: Buesseler, K. O., A. M. P. McDonnell, O. M. E. Schofield, D. K. Steinberg, and H. W. Ducklow (2010), High particle export over the continental shelf of the west Antarctic Peninsula, Geophys. Res. Lett., 37, L22606, doi: 10.1029/2010GL045448.
DOI
10.1029/2010GL045448
Keywords
Ross Sea; Water-Column; Bransfield Strait; Aquatic Systems; Sediment Traps; Twilight Zone; Time-Series; Upper Ocean; Long-Term; Th-234
Recommended Citation
Buesseler, KO; McDonnell, AMP; Schofield, OME; Steinberg, DK; and Ducklow, HW, High particle export over the continental shelf of the west Antarctic Peninsula (2010). Geophysical Research Letters, 37.
10.1029/2010GL045448
