Organic carbon and nutrient fluxes to the coastal zone from the Sepik River outflow |
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| Authors: | Kathryn A Burns Gregg BrunskillDiane Brinkman Irena Zagorskis |
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| Institution: | Australian Institute of Marine Science, PMB 3 Townsville MC, Qld. 4810. Australia |
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| Abstract: | The Sepik River is a major contributor of water, sediment and associated organic loads to the coastal waters of northern New Guinea and the Bismarck Sea. We compare dissolved and particulate organic carbon data from September 1997 during an extremely dry El Nino year with those from 1996, 1999 and 2000 during La Nina wet season discharges. Estimated Sepik River flux of DOC is 3.2×1010 mol yr−1 and POC is 1.1×1011 mol yr−1. The estimates for total river nutrient fluxes to the sea are 1.1×1010 mol yr−1 for nitrogen and 4.6×108 mol yr−1 for phosphorus. The Sepik DOC flux is about equal to that combined from all four major rivers that enter the Gulf of Papua on the south coast of PNG. The Sepik inorganic PIC flux is low (1.4×108 mol yr−1) as the river does not drain carbonate soils. With a narrow continental shelf, and strong coastal currents, much of this exported material is available for long distance transport into the coastal Bismarck Sea and beyond. |
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| Keywords: | Sepik river Papua new guinea Carbon and nutrient fluxes Carbon cycling Mass balance Sediment traps |
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