title: Response to Comment on "Dilution limits dissolved organic carbon utilization in the deep ocean".
abstract: Our recent finding that dilution limits dissolved organic carbon (DOC) utilization in the deep ocean has been criticized based on the common misconception that lability equates to rapid and complete utilization. Even when considering the redefinition of recalcitrant DOC recently proposed by Jiao et al., the dilution hypothesis best explains our experimental observations.
authors.affiliation: Red Sea Research Center, Division of Biological and Environmental Sciences and Engineering, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Thuwal 23955-6900, Saudi Arabia. Department of Global Change Research, Institut Mediterrani d'Estudis Avançats (IMEDEA), Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC)/Universidad de las Islas Baleares (UIB), 07190 Esporles, Spain. jesus.arrieta@kaust.edu.sa.
authors.forename: Jesús M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Arrieta
authors.affiliation: Department of Global Change Research, Institut Mediterrani d'Estudis Avançats (IMEDEA), Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC)/Universidad de las Islas Baleares (UIB), 07190 Esporles, Spain.
authors.forename: Eva
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Mayol
authors.affiliation: Department of Limnology and Bio-Oceanography, Division Bio-Oceanography, University of Vienna, Althanstrasse 14, 1090 Vienna, Austria.
authors.forename: Roberta L
authors.initials: RL
authors.lastname: Hansman
authors.affiliation: Department of Limnology and Bio-Oceanography, Division Bio-Oceanography, University of Vienna, Althanstrasse 14, 1090 Vienna, Austria. Department of Biological Oceanography, Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research (NIOZ), 1790AB Den Burg, Netherlands.
authors.forename: Gerhard J
authors.initials: GJ
authors.lastname: Herndl
authors.affiliation: Research Group for Marine Geochemistry (ICBM-MPI Bridging Group), Institute for Chemistry and Biology of the Marine Environment (ICBM), Carl von Ossietzky University Oldenburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Thorsten
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Dittmar
authors.affiliation: Red Sea Research Center, Division of Biological and Environmental Sciences and Engineering, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Thuwal 23955-6900, Saudi Arabia. Department of Global Change Research, Institut Mediterrani d'Estudis Avançats (IMEDEA), Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC)/Universidad de las Islas Baleares (UIB), 07190 Esporles, Spain.
authors.forename: Carlos M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Duarte
mesh_terms: D057486:Carbon Cycle; D002245:Carbon Dioxide / Q000737:chemistry*; D009792:Oceans and Seas; D012623:Seawater / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000382:microbiology*
chemical_list: D002245:Carbon Dioxide