Biogeochemical role of subsurface coherent eddies in the ocean: Tracer cannonballs, hypoxic storms, and microbial stewpots?.

Frenger, Ivy , Bianchi, Daniele, Stührenberg, Carolin, Oschlies, Andreas , Dunne, John, Deutsch, Curtis, Galbraith, Eric and Schütte, Florian (2018) Biogeochemical role of subsurface coherent eddies in the ocean: Tracer cannonballs, hypoxic storms, and microbial stewpots?. Open Access Global Biogeochemical Cycles, 32 (2). pp. 226-249. DOI 10.1002/2017GB005743.

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Abstract

Subsurface coherent eddies are well-known features of ocean circulation, but the sparsity of observations prevents an assessment of their importance for biogeochemistry. Here, we use a global eddying (0.1° ) ocean-biogeochemical model to carry out a census of subsurface coherent eddies originating from eastern boundary upwelling systems (EBUS), and quantify their biogeochemical effects as they propagate westward into the subtropical gyres. While most eddies exist for a few months, moving over distances of 100s of km, a small fraction (< 5%) of long-lived eddies propagates over distances greater than 1000km, carrying the oxygen-poor and nutrient-rich signature of EBUS into the gyre interiors. In the Pacific, transport by subsurface coherent eddies accounts for roughly 10% of the offshore transport of oxygen and nutrients in pycnocline waters. This "leakage" of subsurface waters can be a significant fraction of the transport by nutrient-rich poleward undercurrents, and may contribute to the well-known reduction of productivity by eddies in EBUS. Furthermore, at the density layer of their cores, eddies decrease climatological oxygen locally by close to 10%, thereby expanding oxygen minimum zones. Finally, eddies represent low-oxygen extreme events in otherwise oxygenated waters, increasing the area of hypoxic waters by several percent and producing dramatic short-term changes that may play an important ecological role. Capturing these non-local effects in global climate models, which typically include non-eddying oceans, would require dedicated parameterizations.

Document Type: Article
Research affiliation: OceanRep > SFB 754 > B6
OceanRep > SFB 754 > A5
OceanRep > GEOMAR > FB2 Marine Biogeochemistry > FB2-BM Biogeochemical Modeling
OceanRep > GEOMAR > FB1 Ocean Circulation and Climate Dynamics > FB1-PO Physical Oceanography
OceanRep > SFB 754
Refereed: Yes
Open Access Journal?: No
Publisher: AGU (American Geophysical Union), Wiley
Projects: SFB754, SOCCOM
Date Deposited: 30 Jan 2018 11:15
Last Modified: 11 Aug 2021 11:21
URI: https://oceanrep.geomar.de/id/eprint/41753

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