Determination of the distribution of dissolved organic carbon in the Indian sector of the Southern Ocean

Abstract

During France JGOFS campaign ANTARES 2 (R.V. Marion Dufresne), samples were taken along a section of the 62°E meridian from 49° to 66°S. The high temperature catalytic oxidation (HTCO) method was used to determine the concentration of dissolved organic carbon (DOC). The analyses were conducted both on-board ship and after the cruise in the laboratory. Collecting and storing acidified samples for post-cruise analysis induced no significant differences. The use of two separate but identical channels on the carbon analyzer increased the number of samples analysed per day and allowed independent monitoring of the instrument blank and the calibration of the detector response. The mixed layer concentrations of organic carbon varied from about 52 μM C in the Antarctic Divergence (64°S) to about 63 μM C in the Polar Frontal Zone (49°S). Vertical profiles showed a slight, but significant, decrease in organic carbon below the mixed layer, to about 42 μM C below 2000 m across the transect. The homogeneity and low concentration of organic carbon in deep water is consistent with values recently reported for the equatorial Atlantic and Pacific Ocean and supports the evidence for a constant deep water DOC concentration. In addition, this provides a verification of the instrument performance, thus validating observed DOC data trends and allowing a comparison with the `modern' DOC literature. In general, the organic carbon concentration in the mixed layer was lower than previously published data of the main ocean basins, which might -reflect the low chlorophyll a concentration (<0.5 μg/l) encountered in this region. Along the 62°E meridian section, organic carbon showed a trend with corresponding measurements of phytoplankton biomass and bacterial production, underlining the dependence of bacterial growth on a pool of `freshly' produced DOC. Organic carbon was found to exhibit a weak inverse trend versus apparent oxygen utilization (AOU). This suggests that only a small part of the oxygen consumption is due to the mineralisation of DOC.