title: Dissolved Organic Carbon in the North Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation.
abstract: The quantitative role of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) in dissolved organic carbon (DOC) export is evaluated by combining DOC measurements with observed water mass transports. In the eastern subpolar North Atlantic, both upper and lower limbs of the AMOC transport high-DOC waters. Deep water formation that connects the two limbs of the AMOC results in a high downward export of non-refractory DOC (197 Tg-C·yr(-1)). Subsequent remineralization in the lower limb of the AMOC, between subpolar and subtropical latitudes, consumes 72% of the DOC exported by the whole Atlantic Ocean. The contribution of DOC to the carbon sequestration in the North Atlantic Ocean (62 Tg-C·yr(-1)) is considerable and represents almost a third of the atmospheric CO2 uptake in the region.
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Investigaciones Marinas, IIM-CSIC, 36208 Vigo, Spain.
authors.forename: Marcos
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Fontela
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Investigaciones Marinas, IIM-CSIC, 36208 Vigo, Spain.
authors.forename: Maribel I
authors.initials: MI
authors.lastname: García-Ibáñez
authors.affiliation: Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science, RSMAS/OCE University of Miami, Miami, Florida, USA.
authors.forename: Dennis A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Hansell
authors.affiliation: CNRS, Laboratoire de Physique des Océans, UMR 6523 CNRS/Ifremer/IRD/UBO, Ifremer Centre de Brest, Plouzané, France.
authors.forename: Herlé
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Mercier
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Investigaciones Marinas, IIM-CSIC, 36208 Vigo, Spain.
authors.forename: Fiz F
authors.initials: FF
authors.lastname: Pérez