A global ocean opal ballasting–silicate relationship

Cael, B.B. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1317-5718; Moore, C. Mark; Guest, Joe; Jarníková, Tereza; Mouw, Colleen B.; Bowler, Chris; Mawji, Edward; Henson, Stephanie A. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3875-6802; Le Quéré, Corinne. 2024 A global ocean opal ballasting–silicate relationship. Geophysical Research Letters, 51 (19). 10.1029/2024GL110225

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Text © 2024. The Author(s).This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Geophysical Research Letters - 2024 - Cael - A Global Ocean Opal Ballasting Silicate Relationship.pdf - Published Version Available under License Creative Commons Attribution 4.0. Download (1MB) | Preview

Abstract/Summary

Opal and calcium carbonate are thought to regulate the biological pump's transfer of organic carbon to the deep ocean. A global sediment trap database exhibits large regional variations in the organic carbon flux associated with opal flux. These variations are well-explained by upper ocean silicate concentrations, with high opal ‘ballasting’ in the silicate-deplete tropical Atlantic Ocean, and low ballasting in the silicate-rich Southern Ocean. A plausible, testable hypothesis is that opal ballasting varies because diatoms grow thicker frustules where silicate concentrations are higher, carrying less organic carbon per unit opal. The observed pattern does not fully emerge in an advanced ocean biogeochemical model when diatom silicification is represented using a single global parameterization as a function of silicate and iron. Our results suggest a need for improving understanding of currently modeled processes and/or considering additional parameterizations to capture the links between elemental cycles and future biological pump changes.

Item Type:	Publication - Article
Digital Object Identifier (DOI):	10.1029/2024GL110225
ISSN:	0094-8276
Date made live:	15 Oct 2024 12:29 +0 (UTC)
URI:	https://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/538237

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