The Xiamen Symposium on Marine Environmental Sciences (XMAS 2025)

Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) in coastal waters is essential to biogeochemical cycling, but global and regional drivers of DOC are still uncertain. In this presentation, we will discuss results from a research community effort which explores the spatial and temporal differences in DOC concentrations and stocks across the global coastal ocean, and how these relate to variations in temperature and salinity. Our results demonstrate that globally salinity is the main driver of DOC concentration. These patterns were driven by riverine inputs of DOC and nutrients that stimulate plankton blooms. No spatial trend between DOC and temperature was apparent, but some regions had clear links between elevated temperature and DOC peaks. This is probably related to increased plankton production and vertical stratification at high temperatures. Links between coastal DOC, regional hydrology, and temperature highlight the potential of anthropogenic impacts to change coastal DOC concentration and composition, and thereby ecosystem state.
 

Disolved organic carbon,Stocks,Environmental drivers,Coastal ocean