Changing carbon-to-nitrogen ratios of organic-matter export under ocean acidification

Jan Taucher (), Tim Boxhammer, Lennart T. Bach, Allanah J. Paul, Markus Schartau, Paul Stange and Ulf Riebesell
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Jan Taucher: GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research
Tim Boxhammer: GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research
Lennart T. Bach: University of Tasmania
Allanah J. Paul: GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research
Markus Schartau: GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research
Paul Stange: GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research
Ulf Riebesell: GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research

Nature Climate Change, 2021, vol. 11, issue 1, 52-57

Abstract: Abstract Ocean acidification (OA) will affect marine biotas from the organism to the ecosystem level. Yet, the consequences for the biological carbon pump and thereby the oceanic sink for atmospheric CO2 are still unclear. Here we show that OA considerably alters the C/N ratio of organic-matter export (C/Nexport), a key factor determining efficiency of the biological pump. By synthesizing sediment-trap data from in situ mesocosm studies in different marine biomes, we find distinct but highly variable impacts of OA on C/Nexport, reaching up to a 20% increase/decrease under partial pressure of CO2 ( $$p_{{\rm{CO}}_{2}}$$ p CO 2 ) conditions projected for 2100. These changes are driven by $$p_{{\rm{CO}}_{2}}$$ p CO 2 effects on a variety of plankton taxa and corresponding shifts in food-web structure. Notably, our findings suggest a pivotal role of heterotrophic processes in controlling the response of C/Nexport to OA, thus contradicting the paradigm of primary producers as the principal driver of biogeochemical responses to ocean change.

Date: 2021
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DOI: 10.1038/s41558-020-00915-5

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