Biogeochemistry and the Carbon Reservoir

The biogeochemistry and the carbon reservoir of the South China Sea (SCS) are attractive because of two reasons. First, the monsoon-driven seasonal patterns in bioproductivity and nutrient dynamics distinguish the SCS from other low-latitude waters which, as a rule, are insensitive to seasonal cycles. Second, the enclosed nature of the SCS basin allows only limited exchanges with the open ocean and brings about specific features in its basin-wise circulation and carbon cycling. Since both monsoonal climate and basin morphology have been evolved with geological time, the SCS must have had its own history in biogeochemical evolution and carbon reservoir changes.