Description: Highlights: • Strong longitudinal variability occurs in the North Atlantic subtropical gyre. • Allochthonous supply of semilabile DOP may occur in the western oligotrophic gyre. • Semilabile DON supply does not provide a significant direct N source. Abstract: We combine modelled timescales of ocean circulation with satellite-retrieved and in situ biogeochemical observations collected in spring along 24.5°N in the subtropical North Atlantic. Longitudinal gradients in the distribution of dissolved organic nitrogen (DON) and dissolved organic phosphorus (DOP) and in other biogeochemical parameters are associated with the longitudinal variability in physical forcing and in the eastward increase of the timescale of advective transport. The western (West of 70°W) and eastern (East of 30°W) margins of the subtropical gyre appear influenced by the productive regions of the Gulf Stream and upwelling zones off Africa, respectively. Within the oligotrophic zone between 70 and 31°W, at approximately 46°W there is a change in the nutrient-controlling factors from the western ultra- oligotrophic with barely any seasonal cycle to an eastern oligotrophic environment with a more intense mixed layer dynamics. The allochthonous supply of semilabile-DOP may be important in the western sector of the oligotrophic gyre (approx. 70–46°W) where, together with the combination of shallow mixed layers, almost permanent stratification and high water temperatures create a niche for the growth of diazotrophs, which we detect from space. Turnover estimates exceeding 3 yr suggest that even re- active fractions of DON are unlikely to be a significant N source. In the eastern sector of the oligotrophic gyre (46–31°W), transit timescales longer than 3 years suggest that the allochthonous supply of the semilabile DOP is negligible due to its exhaustion. Here, an intense mixed layer dynamics favours nu- trient supply from below the mixed layer. We speculate that longitudinal variability in physical forcing and gradients in the timescale of advection, combined with distinct turnover timescales of reactive fractions of DON and DOP, drive diverse phytoplankton assemblages and surface nitrogen fixation gra- dients across our region of investigation.

Description: A coupled ocean biogeochemistry-circulation model is used to investigate the impact of observed past and anticipated future wind changes in the southern hemisphere on the oxygen minimum zone in the tropical Pacific. We consider the industrial period until the end of the 21st century and distinguish effects due to a strengthening of the westerlies from effects of a southward shift of the westerlies that is accompanied by a poleward expansion of the tropical trade winds. Our model results show that a strengthening of the westerlies counteracts part of the warming-induced decline in the global marine oxygen inventory. A poleward shift of the trade-westerlies boundary, however, triggers a significant decrease of oxygen in the tropical oxygen minimum zone. In a business-as-usual CO2 emission scenario, the poleward shift of the trade-westerlies boundary and warming-induced increase in stratification contribute equally to the expansion of suboxic waters in the tropical Pacific.

Description: Deoxygenation in the Baltic Sea endangers fish yields and favours noxious algal blooms. Yet, vertical transport processes ventilating the oxygen-deprived waters at depth and replenishing nutrient-deprived surface waters (thereby fuelling export of organic matter to depth), are not comprehensively understood. Here, we investigate the effects of the interaction between surface currents and winds (also referred to as eddy/wind effects) on upwelling in an eddy-rich general ocean circulation model of the Baltic Sea. Contrary to expectations we find that accounting for current/wind effects does inhibit the overall vertical exchange between oxygenated surface waters and oxygen-deprived water at depth. At major upwelling sites, however, as e.g. off the south coast of Sweden and Finland, the reverse holds: the interaction between topographically steered surface currents with winds blowing over the sea results in a climatological sea surface temperature cooling of 0.5 K. This implies that current/wind effects drive substantial local upwelling of cold and nutrient-replete waters.