The DOI matches its Crossref record; 39 of the 39 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Open ocean dead zones in the tropical North Atlantic Ocean.
Open accessPublished version of a preprint
Abstract
Abstract. Here we present first observations, from instrumentation installed on moorings and a float, of unexpectedly low (<2 μmol kg−1) oxygen environments in the open waters of the tropical North Atlantic, a region where oxygen concentration does normally not fall much below 40 μmol kg−1. The low-oxygen zones are created at shallow depth, just below the mixed layer, in the euphotic zone of cyclonic eddies and anticyclonic-modewater eddies. Both types of eddies are prone to high surface productivity. Net respiration rates for the eddies are found to be 3 to 5 times higher when compared with surrounding waters. Oxygen is lowest in the centre of the eddies, in a depth range where the swirl velocity, defining the transition between eddy and surroundings, has its maximum. It is assumed that the strong velocity at the outer rim of the eddies hampers the transport of properties across the eddies boundary and as such isolates their cores. This is supported by a remarkably stable hydrographic structure of the eddies core over periods of several months. The eddies propagate westward, at about 4 to 5 km day−1, from their generation region off the West African coast into the open ocean. High productivity and accompanying respiration, paired with sluggish exchange across the eddy boundary, create the "dead zone" inside the eddies, so far only reported for coastal areas or lakes. We observe a direct impact of the open ocean dead zones on the marine ecosystem as such that the diurnal vertical migration of zooplankton is suppressed inside the eddies.
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“Oxygen can drop to zero in these eddies (Karstensen et al., 2015), substantially lower than the average value of 40 µmol kg -1 .”
From The tropical atlantic observing system (2019) · cites this paper as Karstensen et al., 2015
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“In the eastern tropical Atlantic, estimates of the biological pump and its dependence on oxygen availability are complicated by the presence of mesoscale eddies, which contain shallow (40-100 m) suboxic environments (Karstensen et al., 2015).”
From The tropical atlantic observing system (2019) · cites this paper as Karstensen et al., 2015
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Citations
Cites
Spreading dead zones and consequences for marine ecosystems
Diaz, R. J., & Rosenberg, R. (2008) · Science · doi:10.1126/science.1156401 · Cited by 6,626
Global observations of nonlinear mesoscale eddies
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Eddy/Wind Interactions Stimulate Extraordinary Mid-Ocean Plankton Blooms
McGillicuddy, D., Anderson, L., Bates, N., Bibby, T., Buesseler, K., Carlson, C., Davis, C., Ewart, C. S., Falkowski, P., Goldthwait, S., et al. (2007) · Science · doi:10.1126/science.1136256 · Cited by 848
The Influence of Nonlinear Mesoscale Eddies on Near-Surface Oceanic Chlorophyll
Chelton, D. B., Gaube, P., Schlax, M. G., Early, J. J., & Samelson, R. M. (2011) · Science · doi:10.1126/science.1208897 · Cited by 689
Oxygen minimum zones in the eastern tropical Atlantic and Pacific oceans
Karstensen, J., Stramma, L., & Visbeck, M. (2008) · Progress in Oceanography · doi:10.1016/j.pocean.2007.05.009 · Cited by 666
Self-citationThe Oceanic Vertical Pump Induced by Mesoscale and Submesoscale Turbulence
Klein, P., & Lapeyre, G. (2008) · Annual Review of Marine Science · doi:10.1146/annurev.marine.010908.163704 · Cited by 600
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Observing the Global Ocean with Biogeochemical-Argo
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Metadata
- Authors
- Karstensen, J., Fiedler, B., Schütte, F., Brandt, P., Körtzinger, A., Fischer, G., Zantopp, R., Hahn, J., Visbeck, M., & Wallace, D.
- Affiliations
- GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel (DE)
- University of Bremen (DE)
- Corresponding author
- Karstensen, J.
- ORCID
- Venue
- Biogeosciences
- Publisher
- Copernicus GmbH
- Published
- 2015-04-30
- Volume
- 12
- Issue
- 8
- Pages
- 2597-2605
- ISSN
- 1726-4170 (ISSN-L)
- 1726-4189
- OpenAlex
- W2078401285
- Cited by
- 105
- References
- 39
- Citations by year
- 2026: 3 · 2025: 10 · 2024: 5 · 2023: 6 · 2022: 7 · 2021: 13 · 2020: 8 · 2019: 8 · 2018: 12 · 2017: 10 · 2016: 16 · 2015: 7
- FWCI
- 12.49
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Biogeosciences (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel (GEOMAR) (acceptedVersion, other-oa)
- DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
- Funders
- Seventh Framework Programme (312463)
- Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung (AWA 01DG12073E)
- Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (SFB 754)
- European Commission (264879)
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Earth and Planetary Sciences › Oceanography › Marine Plankton and Biogeochemistry
- Physical Sciences › Earth and Planetary Sciences › Oceanography › Oceanographic and Atmospheric Processes
- Physical Sciences › Earth and Planetary Sciences › Oceanography › Marine Biology and Ecology Research
- Keywords
- tropical North Atlantic, ocean eddies, cyclonic eddies, anticyclonic eddies, euphotic zone, eddy propagation, diurnal vertical migration, zooplankton, West African coast, mixed layer
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