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234Th-derived particulate organic carbon export in the Prydz Bay, Antarctica

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Abstract

234Th activities in sea water were measured using Fe(OH)3 co-precipitation and beta counting at six stations in Prydz Bay in March 2008 during the 24th Chinese National Antarctic Research Expedition. Total 234Th activities ranged from 0.96 to 2.44 dpm L−1 with an average of 1.61 dpm L−1, showing an apparent deficit with respect to 238U due to scavenging and export with particles. With a one-dimensional steady state model, 234Th export fluxes were converted to particulate organic carbon (POC) export using bottle ratios of POC concentrations to particulate 234Th activities on suspended particles. POC fluxes at the depth of 100 m varied between 33 and 297 mmol m−2 day−1, comparable to prior work in the same region and higher than those of some other sea areas in the Southern Ocean, and indicated efficient running of biological pump in Prydz Bay. The results could be helpful to expand the knowledge of carbon cycle in seasonally ice-covered coastal regions around Antarctica.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the National Nature Science Foundation of China (11205094, 41106167 and 41076134) and Tsinghua University Initiative Scientific Research Program (2010Z07108). We appreciate the assistance of Jiuxin Shi, Renfeng Ge, Chuanyu Hu and other colleagues of 24th Chinese National Antarctic Research Expedition with CTD data and sample collection. We also give thanks to Wenliang Wei and Quan Shen along with the crew of the R/V Xuelong for their help during the cruise. We are grateful to two anonymous reviewers for their constructive comments on manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Engineering Physics, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China

    Hao Ma, Zhi Zeng, Wuhui Lin, Jianping Cheng & Shi Zeng

  2. Key Laboratory of Particle & Radiation Imaging, Tsinghua University, Ministry of Education, Beijing, 100084, China

    Hao Ma, Zhi Zeng & Jianping Cheng

  3. Key Laboratory of Global Change and Marine-Atmospheric Chemistry (Third Institute of Oceanography), State Oceanic Administration, Xiamen, 361005, China

    Jianhua He, Wuhui Lin & Liqi Chen

  4. Laboratory of Marine Ecosystem and Biogeochemistry (Second Institute of Oceanography), State Oceanic Administration, Hangzhou, 310012, China

    Zhengbing Han

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  1. Hao Ma
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Correspondence to Hao Ma.

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Ma, H., Zeng, Z., He, J. et al. 234Th-derived particulate organic carbon export in the Prydz Bay, Antarctica. J Radioanal Nucl Chem 299, 621–630 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10967-013-2842-y

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