Atlantic meridional nutrient transport 2004-2018 timeseries: insights into inorganic nutrient pool reorganization by the AMOC
- 1University of Brest, CNRS, Ifremer, IRD, Laboratoire d'Océanographie Physique et Spatiale (LOPS), IUEM, Centre Ifremer de Bretagne, Plouzané, France
- 2NORCE Norwegian Research Centre, Bjerknes Centre for Climate Research, Bergen, Norway
- 3National Oceanography Centre Southampton, Southampton, UK
- 4School of Ocean and Earth Science, National Oceanography Centre Southampton, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK
- 5Alfred Wegener Institute, Bremerhaven, Germany
- 6NOAA/AOML/PHOD, Miami, USA
- 7University of Vigo, Vigo, Spain
North Atlantic (NA) biological productivity and resulting carbon uptake (Biological Carbon Pump, BCP) are supported by the northward transport of nutrients by the upper limb of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC). Changes in the strength of the AMOC are subject to influence ocean nutrient cycling and the efficiency of the BCP. In this study, we present evidence for non-steady state behaviour based on 14 years of observations (2004-2018) at 26.5°N. Our results show significant (>80%) nutrient transport variability tightly related to AMOC alongside predominantly net southward nutrient transport exceeding total nutrient sources. Changes over the observational period indicate: i) increasing NA BCP efficiency (remineralized:preformed ratio); ii) decreasing NA nutrient inventory, except towards the end of the period when the system was closer to balance.
How to cite: Carracedo, L. I., McDonagh, E., Sanders, R., Moore, M., Mercier, H., Brown, P., Torres-Valdés, S., Mawji, E. W., Baringer, M., Smeed, D., and Rosón, G.: Atlantic meridional nutrient transport 2004-2018 timeseries: insights into inorganic nutrient pool reorganization by the AMOC , EGU General Assembly 2024, Vienna, Austria, 14–19 Apr 2024, EGU24-17617, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu24-17617, 2024.
