The Relationship between POC Export Efficiency and Primary Production: Opposite on the Shelf and Basin of the Northern South China Sea

Teng Li, Yan Bai, Xianqiang He, Xiaoyan Chen, Chen-Tung Arthur Chen, Bangyi Tao, Delu Pan and Xuan Zhang
Additional contact information
Teng Li: College of Meteorology and Oceanography, National University of Defense Technology, Nanjing 211101, China
Yan Bai: State Key Laboratory of Satellite Ocean Environment Dynamics, Second Institute of Oceanography, State Oceanic Administration, Hangzhou 310012, China
Xianqiang He: State Key Laboratory of Satellite Ocean Environment Dynamics, Second Institute of Oceanography, State Oceanic Administration, Hangzhou 310012, China
Xiaoyan Chen: State Key Laboratory of Satellite Ocean Environment Dynamics, Second Institute of Oceanography, State Oceanic Administration, Hangzhou 310012, China
Chen-Tung Arthur Chen: Department of Oceanography, National Sun Yat-sen University, Kaohsiung 80424, Taiwan
Bangyi Tao: State Key Laboratory of Satellite Ocean Environment Dynamics, Second Institute of Oceanography, State Oceanic Administration, Hangzhou 310012, China
Delu Pan: State Key Laboratory of Satellite Ocean Environment Dynamics, Second Institute of Oceanography, State Oceanic Administration, Hangzhou 310012, China
Xuan Zhang: State Key Laboratory of Satellite Ocean Environment Dynamics, Second Institute of Oceanography, State Oceanic Administration, Hangzhou 310012, China

Sustainability, 2018, vol. 10, issue 10, 1-22

Abstract: Accurate estimation of particulate organic carbon (POC) export efficiency in the euphotic layer is essential to understand the efficiency of the ocean’s biological carbon pump, but field measurements are difficult to conduct and data are sparse. In this study, we investigated the relationship between POC sinking export efficiency and ocean net primary production (NPP) in the euphotic layer of the northern South China Sea (NSCS), with the help of high spatiotemporal coverage satellite-derived NPP. Annual mean POC export efficiency in euphotic zone is 34% for the shelf areas and 24% for the basin of the NSCS in the context of satellite-derived 16-day-composited NPP. Similar to what is generally observed in the global ocean, the POC export efficiency on the shelf areas appears to be strengthened with the increase of NPP. However, in the basin areas, the opposite relationship is observed. That is, the POC export efficiency significantly decreases with the increase of NPP. Seasonal decoupling between NPP and POC export, phytoplankton size structure, grazing by zooplankton, and dissolved organic carbon export might account for the observed negative relationship between the POC export efficiency and NPP in the euphotic layer of basin region. System comparison between shelf and basin would be helpful to promote understanding of the regulation mechanism of POC export in the tropical marginal seas.

Keywords: POC export efficiency; ocean net primary production; satellite remote sensing; northern South China Sea (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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