Deep carbon export from a Southern Ocean iron-fertilized diatom bloom

Victor Smetacek (), Christine Klaas (), Volker H. Strass, Philipp Assmy, Marina Montresor, Boris Cisewski, Nicolas Savoye, Adrian Webb, Francesco d’Ovidio, Jesús M. Arrieta, Ulrich Bathmann, Richard Bellerby, Gry Mine Berg, Peter Croot, Santiago Gonzalez, Joachim Henjes, Gerhard J. Herndl, Linn J. Hoffmann, Harry Leach, Martin Losch, Matthew M. Mills, Craig Neill, Ilka Peeken, Rüdiger Röttgers, Oliver Sachs, Eberhard Sauter, Maike M. Schmidt, Jill Schwarz, Anja Terbrüggen and Dieter Wolf-Gladrow
Additional contact information
Victor Smetacek: Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research, Am Handelshafen 12, 27570 Bremerhaven, Germany
Christine Klaas: Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research, Am Handelshafen 12, 27570 Bremerhaven, Germany
Volker H. Strass: Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research, Am Handelshafen 12, 27570 Bremerhaven, Germany
Philipp Assmy: Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research, Am Handelshafen 12, 27570 Bremerhaven, Germany
Marina Montresor: Ecology and Evolution of Plankton, Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn
Boris Cisewski: Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research, Am Handelshafen 12, 27570 Bremerhaven, Germany
Nicolas Savoye: Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Pleinlaan 2, 1050 Brussels, Belgium
Adrian Webb: University of Cape Town, Private Bag X3, Rondebosch, 7701 Cape Town, South Africa
Francesco d’Ovidio: LOCEAN-IPSL, CNRS/UPMC/IRD/MNHN, 4 Place Jussieu, 75252 Paris Cedex 5, France
Jesús M. Arrieta: Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research, PO Box 59, 1790 AB Den Burg, The Netherlands
Ulrich Bathmann: Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research, Am Handelshafen 12, 27570 Bremerhaven, Germany
Richard Bellerby: Bjerknes Centre for Climate Research, University of Bergen, Allegaten 55, N-5007 Bergen, Norway
Gry Mine Berg: Stanford University
Peter Croot: Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel, Düsternbrooker Weg 20, 24105 Kiel, Germany
Santiago Gonzalez: Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research, PO Box 59, 1790 AB Den Burg, The Netherlands
Joachim Henjes: Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research, Am Handelshafen 12, 27570 Bremerhaven, Germany
Gerhard J. Herndl: Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research, PO Box 59, 1790 AB Den Burg, The Netherlands
Linn J. Hoffmann: Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel, Düsternbrooker Weg 20, 24105 Kiel, Germany
Harry Leach: School of Environmental Sciences, University of Liverpool, Room 209 Nicholson Building, 4 Brownlow Street, Liverpool L69 3GP, UK
Martin Losch: Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research, Am Handelshafen 12, 27570 Bremerhaven, Germany
Matthew M. Mills: Stanford University
Craig Neill: Bjerknes Centre for Climate Research, University of Bergen, Allegaten 55, N-5007 Bergen, Norway
Ilka Peeken: Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research, Am Handelshafen 12, 27570 Bremerhaven, Germany
Rüdiger Röttgers: Institute for Coastal Research, Helmholtz-Zentrum Geesthacht, Center for Materials and Coastal Research, Max-Planck-Strasse 1, 21502 Geesthacht, Germany
Oliver Sachs: Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research, Am Handelshafen 12, 27570 Bremerhaven, Germany
Eberhard Sauter: Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research, Am Handelshafen 12, 27570 Bremerhaven, Germany
Maike M. Schmidt: Centre for Biomolecular Interactions Bremen, FB 2, University of Bremen, Postfach 33 04 40, 28359 Bremen, Germany
Jill Schwarz: Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research, Am Handelshafen 12, 27570 Bremerhaven, Germany
Anja Terbrüggen: Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research, Am Handelshafen 12, 27570 Bremerhaven, Germany
Dieter Wolf-Gladrow: Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research, Am Handelshafen 12, 27570 Bremerhaven, Germany

Nature, 2012, vol. 487, issue 7407, 313-319

Abstract: Abstract Fertilization of the ocean by adding iron compounds has induced diatom-dominated phytoplankton blooms accompanied by considerable carbon dioxide drawdown in the ocean surface layer. However, because the fate of bloom biomass could not be adequately resolved in these experiments, the timescales of carbon sequestration from the atmosphere are uncertain. Here we report the results of a five-week experiment carried out in the closed core of a vertically coherent, mesoscale eddy of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current, during which we tracked sinking particles from the surface to the deep-sea floor. A large diatom bloom peaked in the fourth week after fertilization. This was followed by mass mortality of several diatom species that formed rapidly sinking, mucilaginous aggregates of entangled cells and chains. Taken together, multiple lines of evidence—although each with important uncertainties—lead us to conclude that at least half the bloom biomass sank far below a depth of 1,000 metres and that a substantial portion is likely to have reached the sea floor. Thus, iron-fertilized diatom blooms may sequester carbon for timescales of centuries in ocean bottom water and for longer in the sediments.

Date: 2012
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DOI: 10.1038/nature11229

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