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Effects of the Marine Biota on Global Carbon Cycling

  • Conference paper
The Global Carbon Cycle

Part of the book series: NATO ASI Series ((ASII,volume 15))

Abstract

Natural carbon cycling in the global ocean and its influence on atmospheric CO2 concentrations can be examined conveniently in terms of a solubility pump, an organic carbon pump and a calcium carbonate pump (Volk and Hoffert 1985). Here a review is presented of the physical, chemical and biological processes which determine the strength of these pumps. Ocean new (export) production and biogenic calcium carbonate production lie in the ranges 5–10 GtCyr-1 and 1–2 GtCyr-1 respectively. A new analysis using the High Latitude exchange/ interior Diffusion-Advection (HILDA) model (Shaffer and Sarmiento 1992, Shaffer 1992) shows that the organic carbon pump is about twice as strong as the solubility pump in terms of atmospheric CO2 drawdown. Model results for the modem, pre-industrial ocean imply that atmospheric transport of CO2 between high and low-mid latitudes associated with the solubility pump (0.7 GtCyr-1 poleward) and the two “biological” pumps (0.8 GtCyr-1 equatorward) tended to balance. This indicates that CO2 outgassing from equatorial upwelling was balanced by CO2 uptake at mid latitudes. Model results are also used to study the sensitivity of atmospheric CO2 levels to changes in ocean physics and biology. It is concluded that even very large changes in ocean biology would probably not make a large impact on ocean uptake of CO2 in the near future. However over century time scales such changes could be important for atmospheric CO2 evolution.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Geophysical Institute, University of Copenhagen, Haraldsgade 6, DK-2200, Copenhagen N, Denmark

    Gary Shaffer

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  1. Gary Shaffer
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Max-Planck Institut für Meteorologie, Bundesstrasse 55, D-20146, Hamburg, Germany

    Martin Heimann

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© 1993 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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Shaffer, G. (1993). Effects of the Marine Biota on Global Carbon Cycling. In: Heimann, M. (eds) The Global Carbon Cycle. NATO ASI Series, vol 15. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-84608-3_18

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-84608-3_18

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-642-84610-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-84608-3

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

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