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Journal Highlights - November 2005 

Solubilization of particles in sediment traps: revising the stoichiometry of mixed layer export
A. N. Antia
Page(s) 189-204. SRef-ID: 1726-4189/bg/2005-2-189

The oceans absorb about 50% of the CO₂ released in the atmosphere by human activities. This uptake takes place via the biological pump whereby algae use CO₂ and nutrients to produce organic matter. Some of this material, ballasted by carbonate or silicate shells, sinks to the deep ocean and is sequestered from the atmosphere. The efficiency of this CO₂ sink depends on the ratio in which carbon is exported per unit of the limiting nutrient.
This export is often quantified by measuring the major elements (carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus, silica) in sinking particles using so-called sediment traps. In this paper, Antia demonstrates that a significant and varying amount of these elements are solubilized between the time of trapping and the time of collection of the traps, biasing the estimation of these key elemental ratios. Her results suggest that carbon storage in the oceans must be revisited. Read the full article.