Journal article
Dissolved Organic Carbon in Coastal Waters: Global Patterns, Stocks and Environmental Physical Controls
Global biogeochemical cycles, Vol.39(5), pp.1-20
05/2025
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Abstract
Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) in coastal waters is integral to biogeochemical cycling, but global and regional drivers of DOC are still uncertain. In this study we explored spatial and temporal differences in DOC concentrations and stocks across the global coastal ocean, and how these relate to temperature and salinity. We estimated a global median coastal DOC stock of 3.15 Pg C (interquartile range (IQR) = 0.85 Pg C), with median DOC concentrations being 2.2 times higher than in open ocean surface waters. Globally and seasonally, salinity was the main driver of DOC with concentrations correlated negatively with salinity, without a clear relationship to temperature. DOC concentrations and stocks varied with region and season and this pattern is likely driven by riverine inputs of DOC and nutrients that stimulate coastal phytoplankton production. Temporally, high DOC concentrations occurred mainly in months with high freshwater input, with some exceptions such as in Eastern Boundary Current margins where peaks are related to primary production stimulated by nutrients upwelled from the adjacent ocean. No spatial trend between DOC and temperature was apparent, but many regions (19 out of 25) had aligned peaks of seasonal temperature and DOC, related to increased phytoplankton production and vertical stratification at high temperatures. Links of coastal DOC with salinity and temperature highlight the potential for anthropogenic impacts to alter coastal DOC concentration and composition, and thereby ecosystem status.
Details
- Title
- Dissolved Organic Carbon in Coastal Waters: Global Patterns, Stocks and Environmental Physical Controls
- Creators
- Christian Lonborg - Aarhus UniversityIsabel Fuentes-Santos - Instituto de Investigacións MariñasCatia Carreira - University of AveiroValentina Amaral - Universidad de la República de UruguayJavier Aristegui - Universidad de Las Palmas de Gran CanariaPunyasloke Bhadury - Indian Institute of Science Education and Research KolkataMariana Bernardi Bif - University of MiamiMaria Ll Calleja - King Abdullah University of Science and TechnologyQi Chen - Xiamen UniversityLuiz C. Cotovicz - Leibniz Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant ResearchStefano Cozzi - Istituto di Scienze Marine del Consiglio Nazionale delle RicercheBradley D. Eyre - Southern Cross UniversityE. Elena Garcia-Martin - National Oceanography CentreMichele Giani - National Institute of Oceanography and Applied GeophysicsRafael Goncalves-Araujo - Technical University of DenmarkRenee Gruber - Australian Institute of Marine ScienceDennis A. Hansell - University of MiamiJohnna M. Holding - Aarhus UniversityValeria Ibello - Middle East Technical UniversityWilliam Hunter - Agri Food and Biosciences InstitutePiotr Kowalczuk - Instytut Oceanologii Polskiej Akademii NaukJ. Severino P. Ibanhez - Instituto de Investigacións MariñasFederica Maggioni - University of New CaledoniaPaolo Magni - National Research CouncilPatrick Martin - Nanyang Technological UniversityS. Leigh Mccallister - Virginia Commonwealth UniversityXose Anxelu G. Moran - Instituto Español de OceanografíaJoanne M. Oakes - Southern Cross UniversityHelena Osterholz - Leibniz Institute for Baltic Sea Research WarnemündeHyekyung Park - Seoul National UniversityDigna Rueda-Roa - University of South Florida St. PetersburgJiang Shan - Federal Office for Radiation ProtectionEva Teira - Universidade de VigoNicholas Ward - Pacific Northwest National LaboratoryYouhei Yamashita - Hokkaido UniversityLiyang Yang - Fuzhou UniversityQiang Zheng - Xiamen UniversityXose Anton Alvarez-Salgado - Instituto de Investigacións Mariñas (Vigo, Spain)
- Publication Details
- Global biogeochemical cycles, Vol.39(5), pp.1-20
- Publisher
- American Geophysical Union
- Number of pages
- 20
- Identifiers
- 991013386652302368
- Copyright
- © 2025. The Author(s).
- Academic Unit
- Faculty of Science and Engineering; Environmental Analysis Laboratory; Science
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Journal article