Plankton respiration in the Atacama Trench region: Implications for particulate organic carbon flux into the hadal realm.

ABSTRACT: Respiration is a key process in the cycling of particulate matter and, therefore, an important control mechanism of carbon export to the ocean's interior. Most of the fixed carbon is lost in the upper ocean, and only a minor amount of organic material sustains life in the deep-sea. Conditions are particularly extreme in hadal trenches, and yet they host active biological communities. The source of organic carbon that supports them and the contribution of these communities to the ocean carbon cycle, however, remain uncertain. Here we report on size-fractionated depth profiles of plankton respiration assessed from the activity of the electron transport system in the Atacama Trench region, and provide estimates of the minimum carbon flux (FC) needed to sustain the respiratory requireme

SUBMITTER: Fernandez-Urruzola I 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8453769 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature