Salp blooms drive strong increases in passive carbon export in the Southern Ocean

Moira Décima (), Michael R. Stukel, Scott D. Nodder, Andrés Gutiérrez-Rodríguez, Karen E. Selph, Adriana Lopes dos Santos, Karl Safi, Thomas B. Kelly, Fenella Deans, Sergio E. Morales, Federico Baltar, Mikel Latasa, Maxim Y. Gorbunov and Matt Pinkerton
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Moira Décima: National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA)
Michael R. Stukel: Florida State University
Scott D. Nodder: National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA)
Andrés Gutiérrez-Rodríguez: National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA)
Karen E. Selph: University of Hawai’i at Mānoa
Adriana Lopes dos Santos: Nanyang Technological University
Karl Safi: National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research
Thomas B. Kelly: Florida State University
Fenella Deans: University of Otago
Sergio E. Morales: University of Otago
Federico Baltar: University of Vienna
Mikel Latasa: Centro Oceanográfico de Gijón, Avenida Príncipe de Asturias
Maxim Y. Gorbunov: The State University of New Jersey
Matt Pinkerton: National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA)

Nature Communications, 2023, vol. 14, issue 1, 1-16

Abstract: Abstract The Southern Ocean contributes substantially to the global biological carbon pump (BCP). Salps in the Southern Ocean, in particular Salpa thompsoni, are important grazers that produce large, fast-sinking fecal pellets. Here, we quantify the salp bloom impacts on microbial dynamics and the BCP, by contrasting locations differing in salp bloom presence/absence. Salp blooms coincide with phytoplankton dominated by diatoms or prymnesiophytes, depending on water mass characteristics. Their grazing is comparable to microzooplankton during their early bloom, resulting in a decrease of ~1/3 of primary production, and negative phytoplankton rates of change are associated with all salp locations. Particle export in salp waters is always higher, ranging 2- to 8- fold (average 5-fold), compared to non-salp locations, exporting up to 46% of primary production out of the euphotic zone. BCP efficiency increases from 5 to 28% in salp areas, which is among the highest recorded in the global ocean.

Date: 2023
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-35204-6

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