Evaluation of microbial carbon pump in relation to dynamics of dissolved organic matter pool in the ocean

2014 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 24681002
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Young Scientists (A)
• Allocation Type: Partial Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: Environmental dynamic analysis
• Research Institution: Hokkaido University
• Principal Investigator: YAMASHITA Youhei 北海道大学, 地球環境科学研究科(研究院), 准教授 (50432224)
• Project Period (FY): 2012-04-01 – 2015-03-31
• Keywords: 海洋科学 / 生物地球化学 / 溶存有機物 / 微生物炭素ポンプ

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Dissolved organic matter (DOM) in the ocean constitutes one of the largest reduced carbon pools in the global carbon cycle. Bio-refractory components of DOM (RDOM) are major fraction of DOM, however, the sources/production mechanisms of RDOM have not been clarified. Recently, importance of microbial RDOM production has been pointed out, and this process has been defined as the microbial carbon pump (MCP). However, the mechanism of MCP has not been well documented.
In this study, we focused humic-like substances in DOM as a MCP product. We determined spatial distribution of humic-like substances in the open ocean and found that humic-like substances are possibly accumulated in the deep ocean. In addition, we established the microbial incubation technique for evaluating microbial RDOM production. The technique would be useful for quantitative evaluation of MCP.

Free Research Field

生物地球化学