LONG TERM TIME SERIES PARTICULATE FLUX FROM A SEDIMENT TRAP IN THE NORTHERN GULF OF MEXICO
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Rosalie K. Cruikshank, Eckerd College, Marine Science Discipline
Julie N. Richey, U.S. Geological Survey St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center
Caitlin E. Reynolds, U.S. Geological Survey St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center
Rebekka Larson, Eckerd College, Marine Science Discipline
The Biological Carbon Pump (BCP) is the primary conduit for transforming and transporting dissolved carbon from the surface to the deep ocean for long-term sequestration. It involves the conversion of dissolved carbon dioxide (CO2) into particulate organic carbon (POC) by primary producers (e.g., phytoplankton). Although most of that POC is remineralized in the upper water column, the fraction that is exported to the seafloor is critical to removing CO2 from the atmosphere. Sediment traps provide an opportunity to directly measure the flux of particulate matter to the deep ocean. In 2008, the U.S. Geological Survey established a sediment trap time series site in the northern Gulf of Mexico (27.5° N, 90.3° W) to collect sinking POM. It was positioned at 700 m depth in 1,150 meters water depth and programmed to collect samples in 7-to-14-day increments from 2008 to 2020. We analyzed the samples for total mass flux as well as fluxes of calcium carbonate (CaCO3), biogenic silica (bSiO2), particulate organic nitrogen, and particulate organic carbon. The long-term time series establishes a baseline for seasonal and interannual changes in particulate flux in the Gulf of Mexico, allowing us to evaluate how climatic and environmental parameters influence the BCP and the various particulate flux components. Overall, particulate flux is lowest in late summer/fall and highest in late winter/spring.
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