Nutrients in the Atlantic thermocline.

The nutrient distributions reflect primarily the sources at the northern and southern outcrops of the isopycnal surfaces, the in situ regeneration due to decomposition of sinking organic materials, and the interior physical processes as inferred from thermocline models and the distribution of conservative properties such as salinity. However, silica also exhibits behavior that cannot be explained by in situ regeneration. A simple phenomenological model suggests that cross-isopycnal advection and mixing in the equatorial region may play an important role in the nutrient dynamics. -from Authors