| Comments |
P.381 right column 4th paragraph: "The oceanic primary production estimates based on 14C incorporation measurements can thus be incremented by about 48% to account for the average algal respiration and DOC [dissolved organic carbon] production (Table 1). This correction yields a revised estimate of the oceanic GPP [gross primary production] in the order of 41 to 77 Gt/C/yr (Table 1), comparable to the estimated range of total respiration in the open ocean of 55 to 76 Gt/C/yr derived above. This very rough correction of open-ocean production estimates narrows the gap between oceanic respiration and production, but some discrepancies in open-ocean metabolism still persist." P.382 right column 2nd paragraph: "The total organic inputs to the open ocean can be estimated from the sum of the corrected open-ocean primary production (41 to 77 Gt/C/yr), and the additional allochthonous organic matter inputs (9–10 Gt/C/yr), and probably range from 51 to 86 Gt/C/yr (Table 1). The total organic inputs to the ocean calculated in this way compare well with the estimated range in open-ocean respiration, which [investigators] hypothesize to vary around a probable central value of 66 Gt/C/yr (Table 1)." (Gt C/yr)=gigatonnes of carbon per year=10^9 tonnes of carbon per year. Allochtonous=denoting sediment or rock that originated at a distance from its present position |