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    The multiple fates of sinking particles in the North Atlantic Ocean

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    Article (5.449Mb)
    Figures S1–S3 and Tables S1 and S2 (983.9Kb)
    Date
    2015-09-25
    Author
    Collins, James R.  Concept link
    Edwards, Bethanie R.  Concept link
    Thamatrakoln, Kimberlee  Concept link
    Ossolinski, Justin E.  Concept link
    DiTullio, Giacomo R.  Concept link
    Bidle, Kay D.  Concept link
    Doney, Scott C.  Concept link
    Van Mooy, Benjamin A. S.  Concept link
    Metadata
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    Citable URI
    https://hdl.handle.net/1912/7652
    As published
    https://doi.org/10.1002/2014GB005037
    DOI
    10.1002/2014GB005037
    Keyword
     Carbon cycle; Particle flux; Bacterial growth efficiency; Bacterial respiration; Microbial respiration 
    Abstract
    The direct respiration of sinking organic matter by attached bacteria is often invoked as the dominant sink for settling particles in the mesopelagic ocean. However, other processes, such as enzymatic solubilization and mechanical disaggregation, also contribute to particle flux attenuation by transferring organic matter to the water column. Here we use observations from the North Atlantic Ocean, coupled to sensitivity analyses of a simple model, to assess the relative importance of particle-attached microbial respiration compared to the other processes that can degrade sinking particles. The observed carbon fluxes, bacterial production rates, and respiration by water column and particle-attached microbial communities each spanned more than an order of magnitude. Rates of substrate-specific respiration on sinking particle material ranged from 0.007 ± 0.003 to 0.173 ± 0.105 day−1. A comparison of these substrate-specific respiration rates with model results suggested sinking particle material was transferred to the water column by various biological and mechanical processes nearly 3.5 times as fast as it was directly respired. This finding, coupled with strong metabolic demand imposed by measurements of water column respiration (729.3 ± 266.0 mg C m−2 d−1, on average, over the 50 to 150 m depth interval), suggested a large fraction of the organic matter evolved from sinking particles ultimately met its fate through subsequent remineralization in the water column. At three sites, we also measured very low bacterial growth efficiencies and large discrepancies between depth-integrated mesopelagic respiration and carbon inputs.
    Description
    Author Posting. © American Geophysical Union, 2015. This article is posted here by permission of American Geophysical Union for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Global Biogeochemical Cycles 29 (2015): 1471–1494, doi:10.1002/2014GB005037.
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    • Marine Chemistry and Geochemistry (MC&G)
    Suggested Citation
    Global Biogeochemical Cycles 29 (2015): 1471–1494
     

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