Upper ocean

Combined lifetime for atmosphere, biosphere, and upper ocean. 

Other limitations on phytoplankton growth are chemical in nature. Nitrogen, in the form of nitrate, nitrite and ammonium ions, forms a basic building material of a plankton s cells. In some species silicon, as silicate, takes on this role. Phosphorus, in the form of phosphate, is in both cell walls and DNA. Iron, in the form of Fe(III) hydroxyl species, is an important trace element. Extensive areas of the mixed layer of the upper ocean have low nitrate and phosphate levels during... 

The quantity of primary production that is exported from the upper ocean is said to be equivalent to new production (18, 19) New primary production is that associated with allocthonous nutrients (i.e., those upwelled or mixed into the euphotic zone or input via rivers and rain). In order for steady state to be maintained, an equivalent flux out of the euphotic zone is required. Earlier studies (19) suggested that sediment-trap measurements of particulate organic carbon (POC) flux were equivalent to new primary production however, recently it has become clear that these measurements probably represent only a... 

Gammon, R. H., Cline, J. and Wisegarver, D. (1982). Chlorofluoromethanes in the Northeast Pacific Ocean measured vertical distributions and application as transient tracers of upper ocean mixing. /. Geophys. Res. 87, 9441-9454. 

Alt, J.C. and Honnorez, J. (1984) Alteration of the upper oceanic crust, DSDP site 417 mineralogy and chemistry. Contr. Mineral. Petrol, 87, 149-169. 

Broecker WS, Kaufman A, Trier RM (1973) The residence time of Thorium in surface sea-water and its implications regarding the fate of reactive pollutants. Earth Planet Sci Lett 20 35-44 Buesseler KO (1991) Do upper-ocean sediment traps provide an accurate record of particle flux Nature 353 420-423... 

Buesseler KO, Ball L, Andrews J, Benitez-Nelson C, Belastock R, Chai F, Chao Y (1998) Upper ocean export of particulate organic carbon in the Arabian Sea derived from thorium-234. Deep-Sea Res II 45 2461-2487... 

Cochran JK, Buesseler KO, Bacon MP, Livingston HD (1993). Thorium isotopes as indicators of particle dynamics in the upper ocean Results from the JGOFS North Atlantic Bloom Experiment. Deep-Sea... 

Hong GH, Park SK, Baskaran M, Kim SH, Chung CS, Lee SH (1999) Lead-210 and polonium-210 in the winter well-mixed turbid waters in the mouth of the Yellow Sea Cont Shelf Res 19 (8) 1049-1064 Huh C-A, Prahl FG (1995) Role of colloids in upper ocean biogeochemistiy in the northeast Pacific Ocean elucidated from disequihbria. Limnol Oceanogr 40 528-532... 

Moran SB, Buesseler KO (1992) Short residence time of colloids in the upper ocean estimated from 238u 234-rh disequilibria. Nature 359 221-223... 

Staudigel H, Plank T, White B, Schmincke H-U (1996) Geochemical fluxes during seafloor alteration of the basaltic upper oceanic crust DSDP Sites 417 and 418. In Subduction Top to Bottom. Bebout GE, Scholl DW, Kirby SH, Platt JP(eds), AGU, Washington DC, p 19-37 Suman DO, Bacon MP (1989) Variations in Holocene sedimentation in the North American Basin determined by °Th measurements. Deep Sea Res 36 869-787... 

Oschlies A (2008) Eddies and upper-ocean nutrient supply, pp 115-130. In Hecht and Hasumi... 

Measurement of trace metal concentrations can provide fundamental insights into marine geochemical processes. Many metals are important micronutrients in seawater and can play a significant role in upper ocean biogeochemistry and carbon cycling. Under certain conditions, elevated concentrations of metals associated with human activities can have negative impacts on marine ecosystems. 

Buesseler, K.O. 1991. Do upper-ocean sediment traps provide an accurate record of particle flux Nature 353 420-423. 

Andrew Dickson (Chair) is an Associate Professor-in-Residence at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography. His research focuses on the analytical chemistry of carbon dioxide in sea water, biogeochemical cycles in the upper ocean, marine inorganic chemistry, and the thermodynamics of electrolyte solutions at high temperatures and pressures. His expertise lies in the quality control of oceanic carbon dioxide measurements and in the development of underway instrumentation for the study of upper ocean biogeochemistry. Dr. Dickson served on the NRC Committee on Oceanic Carbon. He is presently a member of the IOC C02 Advisory Panel and of the PICES Working Group 13 on C02 in the North Pacific. 

Composite global images for winter and summer of upper-ocean (a) chlorophyll oonoentrations derived from satellite-based observations of ooean color, (b) computed net primary produotion, and (c) POC export production. Source-. After Falkowski, P. G. (2003). Treatise in Geochemistry, Elsevier, pp. 185-213, (See oompanion website for oolor version.)... 

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