Production and remineralization in continental shelf ecosystems: A test of the SEEP hypothesis

Conference · Mon Sep 01 04:00:00 EDT 1986

OSTI ID:6860702

Rowe, G T

The hypothesis that continental shelf ecosystems export a major fraction of the carbon produced by the phytoplankton during the spring bloom was tested during the Shelf Edge Exchange Processes (SEEP) experiment off the northeast US coast in 1984. This study, along with a reanalysis of traditional concepts, leads to the conclusion that only a small fraction of continental shelf phytodetritus is exported across a distinct shelf-slope hydrographic frontal system. What is not consumed in the spring is utilized on the shelf during the ensuing stratified season. More open ended ecosystems may export production more readily. The total benthic standing stocks in terms of organic carbon (macrofauna, meiofauna, and bacteria) have been estimated in the SEEP area. Their preponderance on the continental shelf was partial evidence that little organic matter escapes to the upper continental slope. Measurements of the metabolism of the biota allowed calculation of turnover times of organic detritius and the total biota. The turnover time of detritus increased as grain size decreased, suggesting that fine-grained deposits contain mostly refractory, nonreactive compounds, especially on the deep slope. Turnover times of the total biota were about the same in the coarse versus fine-grained shelf deposits, but a far larger fraction of the turnover was attributed to the bacteria in the fine sediments than in the coarse. On average, about 25% of the primary production appeared to be utilized by the aerobic benthos on the continental shelf in the SEEP area. The role of anaerobes at depth in the sediments remains uncertain.

• Research Organization: Brookhaven National Lab., Upton, NY (USA)
• DOE Contract Number: AC02-76CH00016
• OSTI ID: 6860702
• Report Number(s): BNL-38988; CONF-8609246-1; ON: DE87003470
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

520100* -- Environment
Aquatic-- Basic Studies-- (-1989)
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
AQUATIC ORGANISMS
ATLANTIC OCEAN
BENTHOS
CARBON CYCLE
CONTINENTAL MARGIN
CONTINENTAL SHELF
CONTINENTAL SLOPE
DETRITUS
ENVIRONMENTAL TRANSPORT
FOOD CHAINS
MASS TRANSFER
PHYTOPLANKTON
PLANKTON
PRODUCTIVITY
SEAS
SURFACE WATERS