Frontiers in Marine Science (Nov 2020)
Extraordinary Carbon Fluxes on the Shallow Pacific Arctic Shelf During a Remarkably Warm and Low Sea Ice Period
Abstract
The shallow Pacific Arctic shelf has historically acted as an effective carbon sink, characterized by tight benthic pelagic coupling. However, the strength of the biological carbon pump in the Arctic has been predicted to weaken with climate change due to increased duration of the open-water period for primary production, enhanced nutrient limitation, and increased pelagic heterotrophy. In order to gain insights into how the biological carbon pump is functioning under the recent conditions of extreme warming and sea ice loss on the Pacific Arctic shelf, we measured sinking particulate organic carbon (POC) fluxes with drifting and moored sediment traps, as well as rates of primary production and particle-associated microbial respiration during June 2018. In Bering Shelf/Anadyr Water masses, sinking POC fluxes ranged from 0.8 to 2.3 g C m–2 day–1, making them among the highest fluxes ever documented in the global oceans. Furthermore, high export ratios averaging 82% and low rates of particle-associated microbial respiration also indicated negligible recycling of sinking POC in the water column. These results highlight the extraordinary strength of the biological carbon pump on the Pacific Arctic shelf during an unusually warm and low-sea ice year. While additional measurements and time are needed to confirm the ultimate trajectory of these fluxes in response to ongoing climate change, these results do not support the prevailing hypothesis that the strength of the biological carbon pump in the Pacific Arctic will weaken under these conditions.
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