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Decoupling between particulate carbon, nitrogen and biogenic silica export mediated by cyclonic eddies in the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre
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  • Kuanbo Zhou,
  • Claudia R. Benitez-Nelson,
  • Jie Huang,
  • Peng Xiu,
  • Zhenyu Sun,
  • Minhan Dai
Kuanbo Zhou
Xiamen University

Corresponding Author:[email protected]

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Claudia R. Benitez-Nelson
University of South Carolina
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Jie Huang
Tsinghua University
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Peng Xiu
South China Sea Institute Of Oceanology
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Zhenyu Sun
Xiamen University
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Minhan Dai
Xiamen University
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Abstract

We identified 38 cyclonic eddies (CEs) using satellite altimetry that traversed Station ALOHA in the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre from 1993 to 2018. We separated CE-induced particle export, measured using free floating sediment traps deployed at 150 m, at the center versus the edge and with time since eddy evolution. The fluxes of particulate carbon, nitrogen and biogenic silica (PC, PN and BSi) varied significantly within and among individual eddies depending on season and age. On annual time scales, there was little to no significant PC (1.1-1.3-fold) or PN (1.1-1.2-fold) CE enhancement relative to non-eddy and non-bloom periods. In contrast, BSi fluxes were elevated by an average of 200 {plus minus} 80% (1.3-2.7-fold). Our results confirm that CEs more efficiently export BSi relative to C, suggesting that these elements, central to marine food webs, differ in their mechanisms of export to depth and may contribute to long term ecological change.