Is AOU a good measure of respiration in the oceans?
Apparent Oxygen Utilization (AOU) is widely used to infer respiration in the oceans by assuming that surface oxygen concentration is close to saturation with the overlying atmosphere. However, significant disequilibrium of oxygen has been observed in high latitude surface oceans where the deep water...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | en_US |
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American Geophysical Union (AGU)
2017
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| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/106326 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3102-0341 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6394-1866 |
| _version_ | 1811082934925393920 |
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| author | Follows, Michael J Boyle, Edward A Ito, Takamitsu |
| author2 | Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences |
| author_facet | Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences Follows, Michael J Boyle, Edward A Ito, Takamitsu |
| author_sort | Follows, Michael J |
| collection | MIT |
| description | Apparent Oxygen Utilization (AOU) is widely used to infer respiration in the oceans by assuming that surface oxygen concentration is close to saturation with the overlying atmosphere. However, significant disequilibrium of oxygen has been observed in high latitude surface oceans where the deep waters are formed. We explicitly calculate True Oxygen Utilization (TOU) in a global ocean physical-biogeochemical model to evaluate the ability of AOU to represent respiration. We find significant differences between AOU and TOU in the deep waters, suggesting a systematic overestimation of respiration when inferred from AOU. The surface heat flux and the entrainment of thermocline waters together drive the surface undersaturation of oxygen in the regions of water mass formation, and their influences are significantly enhanced by sea ice cover at high latitudes. |
| first_indexed | 2024-09-23T12:14:11Z |
| format | Article |
| id | mit-1721.1/106326 |
| institution | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
| language | en_US |
| last_indexed | 2024-09-23T12:14:11Z |
| publishDate | 2017 |
| publisher | American Geophysical Union (AGU) |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | mit-1721.1/1063262022-10-01T08:45:12Z Is AOU a good measure of respiration in the oceans? Follows, Michael J Boyle, Edward A Ito, Takamitsu Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Program in Atmospheres, Oceans, and Climate Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution Follows, Michael J Boyle, Edward A Ito, Takamitsu Apparent Oxygen Utilization (AOU) is widely used to infer respiration in the oceans by assuming that surface oxygen concentration is close to saturation with the overlying atmosphere. However, significant disequilibrium of oxygen has been observed in high latitude surface oceans where the deep waters are formed. We explicitly calculate True Oxygen Utilization (TOU) in a global ocean physical-biogeochemical model to evaluate the ability of AOU to represent respiration. We find significant differences between AOU and TOU in the deep waters, suggesting a systematic overestimation of respiration when inferred from AOU. The surface heat flux and the entrainment of thermocline waters together drive the surface undersaturation of oxygen in the regions of water mass formation, and their influences are significantly enhanced by sea ice cover at high latitudes. National Science Foundation (U.S.). Division of Polar Programs National Science Foundation (U.S.) (Grants OCE-0136609 and OCE-0350672) 2017-01-10T17:10:16Z 2017-01-10T17:10:16Z 2004-09 2004-07 Article http://purl.org/eprint/type/JournalArticle 00948276 http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/106326 Ito, T., M. J. Follows, and E. A. Boyle. “Is AOU a Good Measure of Respiration in the Oceans?” Geophysical Research Letters 31.17 (2004): n. pag. © 2004 American Geophysical Union https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3102-0341 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6394-1866 en_US http://dx.doi.org/10.1029/2004GL020900 Geophysical Research Letters Article is made available in accordance with the publisher's policy and may be subject to US copyright law. Please refer to the publisher's site for terms of use. application/pdf American Geophysical Union (AGU) MIT Web Domain |
| spellingShingle | Follows, Michael J Boyle, Edward A Ito, Takamitsu Is AOU a good measure of respiration in the oceans? |
| title | Is AOU a good measure of respiration in the oceans? |
| title_full | Is AOU a good measure of respiration in the oceans? |
| title_fullStr | Is AOU a good measure of respiration in the oceans? |
| title_full_unstemmed | Is AOU a good measure of respiration in the oceans? |
| title_short | Is AOU a good measure of respiration in the oceans? |
| title_sort | is aou a good measure of respiration in the oceans |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/106326 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3102-0341 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6394-1866 |
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