Ocean life depends on single circulation pattern in Southern ...( nveyor belt that carries nutrient-rich ...)

nveyor belt that carries nutrient-rich seawater southward in the deep ocean, brings it to the surface in the Antarctic Ocean where the density layer barrier is weak and ships it north. The water sinks again in the Northern Hemisphere and starts over. The researchers discovered a chemical signature (the presence of high nitrate and low silicate levels) that is unique to this nutrient carrier, which is called the Subantarctic Mode Water, and used it to trace the influence of this water in surface waters around the world.

"It is really quite amazing," said Sarmiento. "I had no idea of the extent of its influence."

The SAMW is responsible for feeding nearly all the world's oceans, except for the North Pacific, which is resupplied with nutrients through another circulation pattern, the researchers found.

The finding already has attracted interest among oceanographers. "They have clearly identified the pathway that counteracts the so-called biological pump, which acts to strip the surface layer of its nutrients," said Arnold Gordon of Columbia University. "One now wonders how global change will alter the efficiency of this pathway."

Sarmiento said the research group "is now hard at work investigating the details of this nutrient circulation pattern with an eye to examining how it might respond to global warming in model simulations."

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Contact: Patty Allen
pallen@princeton.edu
609-258-6108
Princeton University
31-Dec-2003

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