{'fraction_non_alphanumeric': 0.016255899318300997, 'fraction_numerical': 0.0057682223387519665, 'mean_word_length': 5.602076124567474, 'pattern_counts': {'":': 0, '<': 0, '<?xml version=': 0, '>': 0, 'https://': 0, 'lorem ipsum': 0, 'www.': 0, 'xml': 0}, 'pii_count': 0, 'substrings_counts': 0, 'word_list_counts': {'cursed_substrings.json': 0, 'profanity_word_list.json': 0, 'sexual_word_list.json': 0, 'zh_pornsignals.json': 0}}
Variable phytoplankton size distributions reduce the sensitivity of global export flux to climate change

Abstract. Earth System Models predict a 10–20 % decrease in ocean carbon export production by the end of the 21st century due to global climate change. This decline is caused by increased stratification of the upper ocean, resulting in reduced shallow subsurface nutrient concentrations and a slower supply of nutrients to the surface euphotic zone. These predictions, however, do not account for associated changes in sinking particle size and remineralization depth. Here we combine satellite-derived export and particle size maps with a simple 3-D global biogeochemical model to investigate how shifts in sinking particle size may buffer predicted changes in surface nutrient supply and therefore export production. We show that higher export rates are correlated with larger phytoplankton and sinking particles, especially in tropical and subtropical regions. Incorporation of these empirical relationships into a global model shows that as circulation slows, a decrease in export and associated shift toward smaller phytoplankton yields particles that sink more slowly and are thus remineralized shallower; this in turn leads to greater recycling of nutrients in the upper water column and faster nutrient recirculation into the euphotic zone, boosting productivity and export to counteract the initial circulation-driven decreases. This negative feedback mechanism (termed the particle size-remineralization feedback) slows export decline over the next century by ~14 % globally and by ~20 % in the tropical and subtropical oceans, where export decreases are currently predicted to be greatest. Thus, incorporating dynamic particle size-dependent remineralization depths into Earth System Models will result in more robust predictions of changes in biological pump strength in a warming climate.