Decadal oscillations in the ocean’s largest oxygen-deficient zone
The impact of global warming on the ocean's oxygen-deficient zones (ODZs) is uncertain, partly because of a lack of data on past changes. We report monthly resolved records of coral skeleton-bound nitrogen isotopes (CS-δ<sup>15</sup>N) to reconstruct denitrification in the Eastern Tropical North Pacific (ETNP) ODZ over the last 80 years. The data indicate strong decadal variation in ETNP denitrification, with maxima during the cool North Pacific phase of Pacific Decadal Variability. The maxima in denitrification (and thus oxygen deficiency) were likely due to stronger upwelling that enhanced productivity leading to greater oxygen demand in the thermocline. Prior findings of multidecadal-to-centennial ODZ trends were likely biased by this variability. ODZ evolution over the next century will depend on how global warming interacts with the decadal oscillations.
Authors
- Sara C. Sanchez (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1923-1218)
- Nicolas Duprey (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1109-0772)
- Alan Foreman (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5082-5786)
- Florian Rubach (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6144-2799)
- Gerald H. Haug (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7534-4420)
- Daniel M. Sigman (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7923-1973)
- Héctor Reyes‐Bonilla (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2593-9631)
- Hubert Vonhof (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0897-8244)
- Renate Rabenstein (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1421-6446)
- Dario Marconi (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9143-9128)
- José D. Carriquiry (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3193-1302)
- C.D. Charles (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4016-2365)
- Alfredo Martínez‐García (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7206-5079)
- M. Röhr
Institutions
- Planetary Science Institute (US)
- Arthritis Foundation (US)
- Scripps Institution of Oceanography (US)
- University of Colorado Boulder (US)
- Princeton University (US)
- Senckenberg Research Institute and Natural History Museum Frankfurt/M (DE)
- Ensenada Institute of Technology (MX)
- Universidad Autónoma de Baja California Sur (MX)
- Max Planck Institute for Chemistry (DE)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Science
- Published
- 2024-11-28
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1126/science.adk4965
- Citations
- 9
- Primary Topic
- Marine and coastal ecosystems
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 4.33