National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration
United States Department of Commerce


 

FY 2019

The August 2010 earthquake swarm at North FAMOUS–FAMOUS segments, Mid-Atlantic Ridge: Geophysical evidence of dike intrusion

Giusti, M., J. Perrot, R.P. Dziak, A. Sukhovich, and M. Maia

Geophys. J. Int., 215(1), 181–195, doi: 10.1093/gji/ggy239, View online (2018)


Understanding variability in annual net community production (NCP) and factors affecting its estimation are important priorities for the study of ocean biogeochemistry. The time evolution of dissolved oxygen is useful proxy for NCP if the physical tendency can be isolated and removed; a key challenge is the resolution of the terms contributing to this tendency. Here, oxygen balances are examined in the upper 200 m at Ocean Station Papa (50° N, 145° W) using data from Seaglider surveys June 2008‐January 2010. Sampling of horizontal gradients of oxygen, temperature, and salinity during these surveys allows the inference of monthly three‐dimensional advection and turbulent diffusion of oxygen. The resulting monthly oxygen balances show strong variability with depth, with similarities to the temperature balances shallower than 100 m, and salinity balances deeper. The estimated annual NCP of 2.2±1.2 mol C m−2 yr−1 in the top 120 m is in agreement with contemporary studies in the subarctic North Pacific Ocean. Horizontal advection in the surface layer is found to be small as previously assumed, but important at greater depths: assuming zero horizontal advection in the top 120 m would have resulted in an overestimate of annual NCP by 50%. Horizontal and vertical advection together dominated the oxygen balance in the permanent pycnocline. Results emphasize the three‐dimensional nature of the oxygen balance, even in this relatively quiescent location, and further demonstrate the viability of autonomous spatial surveys for resolving physical oxygen transport terms.



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