Assessment of oceanic productivity with the triple-isotope composition of dissolved oxygen.
Plant production in the sea is a primary mechanism of global oxygen formation and carbon fixation. For this reason, and also because the ocean is a major sink for fossil fuel carbon dioxide, much attention has been given to estimating marine primary production. Here, we describe an approach for estimating production of photosynthetic oxygen, based on the isotopic composition of dissolved oxygen of seawater. This method allows the estimation of integrated oceanic productivity on a time scale of weeks.
Luz
B
B
The Institute of Earth Sciences, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem 91904, Israel.
Barkan
E
E
D000818:Animals; D002244:Carbon / Q000378:metabolism; D009792:Oceans and Seas; D010100:Oxygen / Q000378:metabolism*; D010103:Oxygen Isotopes / Q000032:analysis; D010788:Photosynthesis; D010933:Plankton / Q000378:metabolism*; D010944:Plants / Q000378:metabolism*; D012621:Seasons; D012623:Seawater / Q000737:chemistry; D013696:Temperature
D010103:Oxygen Isotopes; D002244:Carbon; D010100:Oxygen