Influence of bloom dynamics on Particle Export Efficiency in the North Atlantic: a comparative study of radioanalytical techniques and sediment traps

摘要

The Biological Carbon Pump is an important component of the global carbon cycle is (BCP). Particle Export Efficiency (PEeff), defined as the proportion of primary production (PP) exported as Particulate Organic Carbon (POC) from the surface ocean, is increasingly used as a metric of the strength of the BCP. However our knowledge of which factors drive variability of PEeff remains poor. This is partially because comparisons of PEeff in different regions often overlook the timescale over which the method used operates in relation to the phase of the plankton bloom. Here we use three techniques to estimate PEeff in situ in the North Atlantic: the radioactive pairs U-238-Th-234 and Pb-210-Po-210, and neutrally buoyant sediment traps (PELAGRA).