Influence of a cyclonic eddy on microheterotroph biomass and carbon export in the lee of Hawaii

Abstract

A multi-platform sampling strategy was used to investigate carbon cycling in a cold-core eddy that formed in the lee of Hawaii during September 2000. Microheterotroph biomass and 234Th-derived carbon export rates within the eddy were 2 to 3 times higher than those observed for adjacent waters. If this eddy is representative of other cyclonic eddies that are frequently formed in the lee of Hawaii, then eddy activity may significantly enhance the areal efficiency of the biological pump and facilitate the transfer of organic carbon to organisms inhabiting the mesopelagic and abyssal-benthic zones of this subtropical ecosystem.