Primary production, new production and vertical flux in the eastern Pacific Ocean

The sinking of participate organic matter in the ocean links food webs beneath the euphotic zone to surface primary production and is an important pathway for the downward transport of many elements1–3. The flux of particulate organic carbon (POC) is also an important parameter in the global carbon cycle and may be related to long-term changes in atmospheric CO2 4,5. In 1980, Suess6 synthesized existing measurements from sediment trap studies into a model to predict the vertical flux of POC from depth (z) and primary production (PP)6. The Suess model has become the standard for evaluating vertical flux data7, for estimating the annual flux of POC in the ocean8 and for parameterizing ocean carbon cycle models4,5. We present here a new model of the vertical flux of POC and particulate organic nitrogen (PON) from a set of contemporaneous measurements of PP and fluxes made during the VERTEX (Vertical Transport and Exchange) programme in the north-east Pacific. The VERTEX model indicates that PP and vertical fluxes of POC and PON, in the oligotrophic ocean are greater than previously suggested. In addition, the vertical flux of PON from the photic zone represents a measure of the PP that is supported by new nitrogen (new production)9,10. In the north-east Pacific, new production ranged from 13 to 25% of primary production and was positively related to total PP.

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