HR: 13:55h
AN: OS43C-02    [Abstracts]
TI: The CARIACO Time Series: Carbon fluxes in a tropical, continental upwelling margin
AU: * Muller-Karger, F
EM: carib@marine.usf.edu
AF: University of South Florida, College of Marine Science, St. Petersburg, FL 33701, United States
AU: Varela, R
EM: rvarela@edimar.org
AF: Fundacion La Salle de Ciencias Naturales/EDIMAR, Apartado Postal 144, Porlamar, 6301, Venezuela
AU: Thunell, R C
EM: Thunell@geol.sc.edu
AF: University of South Carolina, Department of Geological Sciences, Columbia, SC 29208, United States
AU: Scranton, M I
EM: mscranton@notes.cc.sunysb.edu
AF: Stony Brook University, School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences, Stony Brook, NY 11794, United States
AU: Taylor, G T
EM: gtaylor@notes.cc.sunysb.edu
AF: Stony Brook University, School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences, Stony Brook, NY 11794, United States
AU: Astor, Y M
EM: yastor@edimar.org
AF: Fundacion La Salle de Ciencias Naturales/EDIMAR, Apartado Postal 144, Porlamar, 6301, Venezuela
AU: Benitez-Nelson, C
EM: cbnelson@geol.sc.edu
AF: University of South Carolina, Department of Geological Sciences, Columbia, SC 29208, United States
AU: Lorenzoni, L
EM: laural@marine.usf.edu
AF: University of South Florida, College of Marine Science, St. Petersburg, FL 33701, United States
AU: Tappa, E J
EM: ejt@geol.sc.edu
AF: University of South Carolina, Department of Geological Sciences, Columbia, SC 29208, United States
AU: Goni, M A
EM: mgoni@coas.oregonstate.edu
AF: College of Oceanic and Atmospheric Sciences, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR 97331, United States
AU: Rueda, D T
EM: digna@marine.usf.edu
AF: University of South Florida, College of Marine Science, St. Petersburg, FL 33701, United States
AU: Hu, C
EM: hu@marine.usf.edu
AF: University of South Florida, College of Marine Science, St. Petersburg, FL 33701, United States
AB: Continental margins play an important role in the global carbon cycle, accounting for about 10-15% of the carbon produced in oceanic systems, and 40% of carbon deposition on the global ocean floor. In an effort to understand some of the processes operating along a wind-driven coastal upwelling margin, the CARIACO time-series project (CArbon Retention In A Colored Ocean) has carried out monthly oceanographic cruises to the Cariaco Basin on the continental shelf off Eastern Venezuela to collect hydrographic, biogeochemical and bio-optical observations since November 1995. Subtropical Underwater (SUW) provides new nutrients to the Basin, which support annual primary production of ~500 mgCm^-2. These estimates are comparable to Monterrey Bay and higher than other upwelling sites such as off West Africa and the Oregon shelf. However, there is a disconnect between vertical, sinking Particulate Organic Carbon fluxes and primary production in the Basin, possibly due to lateral advection of particles. The POC budget between the surface and 275m indicates that about ~2.8x10¹¹ mol C yr^-1 are either remineralized or available for export as POC out of the Basin. Most of the carbon fixed by primary producers in the upper 20-50 m of the water column is exported out of the basin. Remineralization can contribute between 1-10% to the DIC values between the surface and 275 m per day. Rivers play a minor role in nutrient input. The data obtained from the CARIACO time-series helps assess the carbon budget and the seasonality of hydrographic variables in the South-Eastern Caribbean. Ultimately, these data are critical to understand the paleoclimate record of changes in the Atlantic Ocean stored in the laminated sediments at the bottom of the Cariaco Basin.
DE: 4215 Climate and interannual variability (1616, 1635, 3305, 3309, 4513)
DE: 4217 Coastal processes
DE: 4277 Time series experiments (1872, 3270, 4475)
DE: 4279 Upwelling and convergences (4964)
DE: 4283 Water masses
SC: Ocean Sciences [OS]
MN: 2007 Fall Meeting