Physical and Biogeochemical Controls of Dissolved Oxygen Concentration Patterns in the Gulf of Mexico Deep Waters

Dissolved oxygen concentrations in the Surface waters of the Gulf of Mexico (GM) are controlled by the balance of the atmosphere ocean interactions, photosynthetic processes and the respiration of auto- and heterotrophic organisms. Below the mixed layer oxidation processes of organic matter, mixing between water masses, the ventilation rates of the different water masses, and in exceptional cases nearby natural seeps of hydrocarbons control the oxygen dissolved concentrations. Here we will present the distribution of dissolved oxygen between the Yucatán channel and the interior of the Gulf for different water masses for the southern GM to help to constrain the importance of these different processes at depth and in the Gulf interior south of 25˚N and their implications for other geochemical tracers in the water column such as organic carbon and nutrients.