Abstract
Abstract. The flow of Pacific water to the North Atlantic exerts a globally
significant control on nutrient balances between the two ocean basins and
strongly influences biological productivity in the northwest Atlantic.
Nutrient ratios of nitrate (NO3-) versus phosphate
(PO43-) have previously been used to complement salinity
characteristics in tracing the distribution of Pacific water in the North
Atlantic. We expand on this premise and demonstrate that the fraction of
Pacific water as determined by NO3- : PO43- ratios can be
quantitatively predicted from the isotopic composition of sub-euphotic
nitrate in the northwest Atlantic. Our linear model thus provides a
critically important framework for interpreting δ15N signatures
incorporated into both modern marine biomass and organic material in
historical and paleoceanographic archives along the northwest Atlantic
margin.
Funder
Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada
Subject
Earth-Surface Processes,Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics
Cited by
8 articles.
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