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Cited by 317Marine and coastal ecosystemsOceanographic and Atmospheric ProcessesAquatic Ecosystems and Phytoplankton Dynamics

Quantifying the Carbon Export and Sequestration Pathways of the Ocean's Biological Carbon Pump

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Nowicki, Michael, DeVries, Tim, Siegel, David A.·2022·Global Biogeochemical Cycles
DOI 10.1029/2021gb007083
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Abstract

The ocean's biological carbon pump transfers carbon from the surface ocean to the deep ocean by several distinct pathways, including gravitational settling of organic particles, mixing and advection of suspended organic carbon, and active transport by vertically migrating metazoans. Carbon exported by these pathways can be sequestered as respired CO 2 in the deep ocean for years to centuries. However, the contribution of each pathway to carbon export and sequestration remains highly uncertain. Here, satellite and in situ ocean biogeochemical observations are assimilated in an ensemble numerical model of the biological pump to quantify global and regional carbon export and sequestration. The ensemble mean global carbon export is 10.2 Pg C yr −1 and the total amount of carbon sequestered via the biological pump is 1,300 Pg C. The gravitational pump is responsible for 70% of the total global carbon export, 85% of which is zooplankton fecal pellets and 15% is sinking phytoplankton aggregates, while migrating zooplankton account for 10% of total export and physical mixing is responsible for the remaining 20%. These pathways have different sequestration times, with an average of 140 years for the gravitational pump, 150 years for the migrant pump, and only 50 years for the mixing pump. Regionally, the largest sequestration inventories and longest sequestration times are found in the northern high latitudes, while the shortest sequestration times are found in the subtropical gyres. These results suggest that ocean carbon storage will weaken as the oceans stratify and the subtropical gyres expand due to anthropogenic climate change.

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  • The biological pump exports approximately 10 Gt of organic carbon per year from the ocean's surface to the deep sea, approximately ten times greater than inorganic carbon export via the carbonate counterpump.

    “The biological pump exports approximately 10 Gt of organic C per year from the ocean's surface to the deep sea - approximately ten times greater than inorganic C export via the carbonate counterpump. 80”

    From A framework for understanding efficiency losses of Ocean Alkalinity Enhancement (2026) · cites this paper as [80]

    Section 3.2 reports total biological-pump carbon export of about 10.2 Pg C per year, supporting the approximate 10 Gt figure. It measures export at the base of the euphotic zone, not necessarily arrival in the deep sea, and our copy provides no carbonate-counterpump export estimate to support the tenfold comparison. (LLM, conf=0.87)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

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Cited by

Sorted by citations

Authors
Nowicki, M., DeVries, T., & Siegel, D. A.
Affiliations
University of California, Santa Barbara (US)
Corresponding author
Nowicki, Michael
ORCID
Venue
Global Biogeochemical Cycles
Publisher
American Geophysical Union (AGU)
Published
2022-03
Volume
36
Issue
3
ISSN
  • 0886-6236 (ISSN-L)
  • 1944-9224
DOI
10.1029/2021gb007083
OpenAlex
W4210752510
Cited by
317
References
3
Citations by year
2026: 82 · 2025: 94 · 2024: 83 · 2023: 44 · 2022: 14
FWCI
29.00
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
Global Biogeochemical Cycles (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
Funders
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (80NSSC18K1353, 80NSSC17K0692)
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
biological carbon pump, carbon sequestration, gravitational settling, zooplankton fecal pellets, vertical migration, zooplankton, ocean mixing, ocean stratification, subtropical gyre, ocean carbon storage

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