Variation pattern of particulate organic carbon and nitrogen in oceans and inland waters

Abstract

Abstract. We examined the relationship between, and variations in, particulate organic carbon (POC) and particulate organic nitrogen (PON) based on previously acquired ocean and inland water data. The latitudinal dependency of POC ∕ PON is significant between 20 and 90∘ N but weak in low-latitude areas and in the Southern Hemisphere. The mean values of POC ∕ PON in the Southern Hemisphere and Northern Hemisphere were 7.40±3.83 and 7.80±3.92, respectively. High values of POC ∕ PON appeared between 80–90 (12.2±7.5) and 70–80∘ N (9.4±6.4), while relatively low POC ∕ PON was found from 20 (6.6±2.8) to 40∘ N (6.7±2.7). The latitudinal variation of POC ∕ PON in the Northern Hemisphere is much stronger than in the Southern Hemisphere due to the influence of more terrestrial organic matter. Higher POC and PON could be expected in coastal waters. POC ∕ PON growth ranged from 6.89±2.38 to 7.59±4.22 in the Northern Hemisphere, with an increasing rate of 0.0024 km from the coastal to open ocean. Variations of POC ∕ PON in lake water also showed a similar latitude-variation tendency of POC ∕ PON with ocean water but were significantly regulated by the lakes' morphology, trophic state and climate. Small lakes and high-latitude lakes prefer relatively high POC ∕ PON, and large lakes and low-latitude lakes tend to prefer low POC ∕ PON. The coupling relationship between POC and PON in oceans is much stronger than in inland waters. Variations in POC, PON and POC ∕ PON in inland waters should receive more attention due to the implications of these values for the global carbon and nitrogen cycles and the indeterminacy of the relationship between POC and PON.

Recent advances and future research in ecological stoichiometry

“…These higher nutrient ratios in freshwater ecosystems could be a general adaptation to the shorter residence time of water in freshwater systems than in marine systems. The influence of external inputs of organic matter and water, and the climatic conditions (volume of water inputs, evapotranspiration) of surrounding environments and the nearest terrestrial ecosystems can also vary greatly among and within sites over time, promoting high variability in C, N, and P concentrations and C:N:P ratios in inland water bodies (Zadereev et al, 2014;Collins et al, 2017;Huang et al, 2018,;Ngochera and Bootsma, 2018;Smith and Jarvie, 2018).…”

How hydrology and anthropogenic activity influence the molecular composition and export of dissolved organic matter: Observations along a large river continuum

“…including perfluoroalkyl substances (Kothawala et al 2017). Riverine dissolved organic matter can produce carcinogenic disinfection by-products during the water treatment process (Baghoth et al 2011), and the ecological function of receiving water ecosystems depends on the chemical composition and bio-lability of carbon (Huang et al 2018;Song et al 2018). Large fluvial systems are the main arteries for the transfer of organic carbon to the ocean.…”

Nearshore Dissolved and Particulate Organic Matter Dynamics in the Southwestern Baltic Sea: Environmental Drivers and Time Series Analysis (2010–2020)

“…Some DOM is released by living cells, but most of it is released upon cell death and lysis to the microbial community (Azam et al, 1983), leading to a peak in DOC coinciding or shortly after the peak in phytoplankton biomass or POC. Huang et al (2018), however, showed that the correlation between POC and DOC is strong for global, combined data of lakes, oceans and coastal waters but weak for individual water types. Accordingly, the correlation of POC and DOC was not strong at the Heiligendamm station.…”