Poleward decrease in the isotope effect of nitrate assimilation across the Southern Ocean
Document Type
Article
Date of Original Version
9-1-2010
Abstract
Recent studies provide seasonally and spatially resolved information on the isotopic characteristics of nitrate supply and N cycling in Southern Ocean surface waters. The new data improve our understanding of the nitrate supply to the Antarctic surface and its isotopic characteristics, especially with regard to the summertime subsurface minimum temperature (Tmin) layer in the Antarctic. We use these findings to update and compile estimates of the N isotope effect of nitrate assimilation, ε, in the Southern Ocean near Australia. A poleward decrease in ε emerges, from 8-9‰ in the Subantarctic Zone (SAZ, 40-52S) to ∼5‰ in the Polar Antarctic Zone (PAZ, ∼66S). ε is strongly correlated with mixed layer depth at the time of sampling. We hypothesize that the correlation is driven by the physiological response of diatoms to light availability, with light limitation leading to higher cellular efflux of nitrate and thus higher ε. © 2010 by the American Geophysical Union.
Publication Title, e.g., Journal
Geophysical Research Letters
Volume
37
Issue
17
Citation/Publisher Attribution
Difiore, Peter J., Daniel M. Sigman, Kristen L. Karsh, Thomas W. Trull, Robert B. Dunbar, and Rebecca S. Robinson. "Poleward decrease in the isotope effect of nitrate assimilation across the Southern Ocean." Geophysical Research Letters 37, 17 (2010). doi: 10.1029/2010GL044090.