Transfer of particulate organic carbon and nitrogen from the Yangtze River to the ocean.

Abstract

The Yangtze River transports 12 million tons of particulate organic carbon (POC) to the oceans annually, with a computed yield of 6 t km-2 of drainage basin area. Concentrations of POC can exceed 80 mg/L in near bottom waters but generally range from 4 to 40 mg/L throughout the water column. Most POC percentages (in suspended matter) vary from 1.7 to 4.0%, the percentage decreasing with increasing suspended matter concentration. If the Yangtze values are representative of other turbid Asian rivers, present global estimates of fluvially-derived POC may be as much as 50% too low. -from Authors