Cited by 250Marine and coastal ecosystemsOceanographic and Atmospheric ProcessesAquatic Ecosystems and Phytoplankton Dynamics

Diagnosing the contribution of phytoplankton functional groups to the production and export of particulate organic carbon, CaCO 3 , and opal from global nutrient and alkalinity distributions

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Jin, X., Gruber, N., Dunne, J. P., Sarmiento, J. L., Armstrong, R. A.·2006·Global Biogeochemical Cycles

Abstract

We diagnose the contribution of four main phytoplankton functional groups to the production and export of particulate organic carbon (POC), CaCO 3 , and opal by combining in a restoring approach global oceanic observations of nitrate, silicic acid, and alkalinity with a simple size‐dependent ecological/biogeochemical model. In order to determine the robustness of our results, we employ three different variants of the ocean general circulation model (OGCM) required to transport and mix the nutrients and alkalinity into the upper ocean. In our standard model, the global export of CaCO 3 is diagnosed as 1.1 PgC yr −1 (range of sensitivity cases 0.8 to 1.2 PgC yr −1 ) and that of opal as 180 Tmol Si yr −1 (range 160 to 180 Tmol Si yr −1 ). CaCO 3 export is found to have three maxima at approximately 40°S, the equator, and around 40°N. In contrast, the opal export is dominated by the Southern Ocean with a single maximum at around 60°S. The molar export ratio of inorganic to organic carbon is diagnosed in our standard model to be about 0.09 (range 0.07 to 0.10) and found to be remarkably uniform spatially. The molar export ratio of opal to organic nitrogen varies substantially from values around 2 to 3 in the Southern Ocean south of 45°S to values below 0.5 throughout most of the rest of the ocean, except for the North Pacific. Irrespective of which OGCM is used, large phytoplankton dominate the export of POC, with diatoms alone accounting for 40% of this export, while the contribution of coccolithophorids is only about 10%. Small phytoplankton dominate net primary production (NPP) with a fraction of ∼70%. Diatoms and coccolithophorids account for about 15% and less than 2% of NPP, respectively. These diagnosed contributions of the main phytoplankton functional groups to NPP are also robust across all OGCMs investigated. Correlation and regression analyses reveal that the variations in the relative contributions of diatoms and coccolithophorids to NPP can be predicted reasonably well on the basis of a few key parameters.

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Crossref · 10.1029/2005gb002532

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  • Model-predicted global export production of CaCO3 is 1.26 PgC yr-1, close to the preferred estimate of 1.14 PgC yr-1 diagnosed by Jin et al. [2006].

    “Model-predicted global export production of CaCO 3 is 1.26 PgC yr À1 is very close to the ''preferred estimate'' of 1.14 PgC yr À1 diagnosed by Jin et al. [2006] from global nutrient and alkalinity distributions.”

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Authors
Jin, X., Gruber, N., Dunne, J. P., Sarmiento, J. L., & Armstrong, R. A.
Affiliations
  • University of California, Los Angeles (US)
  • NOAA Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory (US)
  • Princeton University (US)
  • Stony Brook University (US)
Venue
Global Biogeochemical Cycles
Published
2006-06
Volume
20
Issue
2
ISSN
  • 0886-6236 (ISSN-L)
  • 1944-9224
OpenAlex
W2123500049
Cited by
250
References
71
Citations by year
2026: 9 · 2025: 17 · 2024: 16 · 2023: 19 · 2022: 22 · 2021: 11 · 2020: 16 · 2019: 9 · 2018: 9 · 2017: 15 · 2016: 8 · 2015: 10 · 2014: 6 · 2013: 16 · 2012: 12
FWCI
8.44
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
Global Biogeochemical Cycles (publishedVersion)
Topics
  • Physical Sciences › Earth and Planetary Sciences › Oceanography › Marine and coastal ecosystems
  • Physical Sciences › Earth and Planetary Sciences › Oceanography › Oceanographic and Atmospheric Processes
  • Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Environmental Chemistry › Aquatic Ecosystems and Phytoplankton Dynamics
Keywords
phytoplankton functional groups, particulate organic carbon export, diatoms, coccolithophores, small phytoplankton, net primary productivity, Southern Ocean, ocean general circulation model

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