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Dissolved Organic Carbon in the Equatorial Region of the Central Pacific

Abstract

IT has been reported1–7 that the concentration of dissolved organic matter (DOM) in oceanic water is about 1 mg C/l. in the surface water and about 0.5 mg C/l. at great depths. Most of the DOM is considered to be supplied by decomposition of phytoplankton though in deep water DOM excreted by zooplankton may be significant. DOM is decomposed chiefly by microorganisms. It is assumed that the overall rate of DOM production is nearly balanced by the rate of decomposition and that fairly constant concentrations are maintained in the ocean.

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OGURA, N. Dissolved Organic Carbon in the Equatorial Region of the Central Pacific. Nature 227, 1335–1336 (1970). https://doi.org/10.1038/2271335a0

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