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New Production and the Global Carbon Cycle

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Primary Productivity and Biogeochemical Cycles in the Sea

Part of the book series: Environmental Science Research ((ESRH,volume 43))

Abstract

The export of newly produced organic carbon from the surface ocean and its regeneration at depth account for an estimated three-quarters of the vertical ΣCO2 gradient shown in Fig. 1 (Volk and Hoffert, 1985). If these processes, often referred to as the “biological pump,” had ceased operating during the pre-industrial era, the increase in surface ΣCO2 resulting from upward mixing of high ΣCO2 deep waters would have raised atmospheric pCO2 from 280 ppm to the order of 450 ppm (Sarmiento and Toggweiler, 1984) over a period of centuries. Vertical exchange, which gives an estimated upward flux of 100 GtC/yr (Fig. 2), works continuously to bring about just such a scenario. The biological pump prevents it by stripping out about 10 GtC/yr, so that the water arriving at the surface has a concentration equal to that which is already there.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Program in Atmospheric and Ocean Sciences, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA

    Jorge L. Sarmiento

  2. Physics Institute, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland

    Ulrich Siegenthaler

Authors
  1. Jorge L. Sarmiento
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  2. Ulrich Siegenthaler
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Oceanographic and Atmospheric, Sciences Division, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, NY, 11973, USA

    Paul G. Falkowski

  2. Biology Department, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, NY, 11973, USA

    Avril D. Woodhead

  3. Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, NY, USA

    Katherine Vivirito

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© 1992 Springer Science+Business Media New York

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Sarmiento, J.L., Siegenthaler, U. (1992). New Production and the Global Carbon Cycle. In: Falkowski, P.G., Woodhead, A.D., Vivirito, K. (eds) Primary Productivity and Biogeochemical Cycles in the Sea. Environmental Science Research, vol 43. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4899-0762-2_18

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4899-0762-2_18

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4899-0764-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4899-0762-2

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