# Biological and physical influences on marine snowfall at the equator

R. Kiko, A. Biastoch, P. Brandt, S. Cravatte, H. Hauss, R. Hummels, I.

Kriest, F. Marin, A. M. P. Mcdonnell, A. Oschlies, et al.

► To cite this version:

R. Kiko, A. Biastoch, P. Brandt, S. Cravatte, H. Hauss, et al., Biological and physical influences on marine snowfall at the equator. Nature Geoscience, 2017, 10 (11), pp.852+. 10.1038/NGEO3042. hal-03502948

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Submitted on 3 Oct 2025

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<figure><img src="image_1.png" /></figure>
# Biological and physical influences on marine snowfall at the equator

R. Kiko<fnref n="1" />*, A. Biastoch<fnref n="1" />, P. Brandt<fnref n="1" />,², S. Cravatte³, H. Hauss<fnref n="1" />, R. Hummels<fnref n="1" />, I. Kriest<fnref n="1" />, F. Marin³, A. M. P. McDonnell⁴, A. Oschlies<fnref n="1" />,², M. Picheral⁵, F. U. Schwarzkopf<fnref n="1" />, A. M. Thurnherr⁶ and L. Stemmann<fnref n="7" />

High primary productivity in the equatorial Atlantic and Pacific oceans is one of the key features of tropical ocean biogeochemistry and fuels a substantial flux of particulate matter towards the abyssal ocean. How biological processes and equatorial current dynamics shape the particle size distribution and flux, however, is poorly understood. Here we use high-resolution size-resolved particle imaging and Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler data to assess these influences in equatorial oceans. We find an increase in particle abundance and flux at depths of 300 to 600 m at the Atlantic and Pacific equator, a depth range to which zooplankton and nekton migrate vertically in a daily cycle. We attribute this particle maximum to faecal pellet production by these organisms. At depths of 1,000 to 4,000 m, we find that the particulate organic carbon flux is up to three times greater in the equatorial belt (1° S-1° N) than in off-equatorial regions. At 3,000 m, the flux is dominated by small particles less than 0.53 mm in diameter. The dominance of small particles seems to be caused by enhanced active and passive particle export in this region, as well as by the focusing of particles by deep eastward jets found at 2° N and 2° S. We thus suggest that zooplankton movements and ocean currents modulate the transfer of particulate carbon from the surface to the deep ocean.

The distribution and fate of particulate organic matter in the ocean is a result of the interaction of primary production near the surface and advection, sinking, grazing, and remineralization at various depths<fnref n="1" />⁻³. Primary production leads to the uptake of carbon dioxide, whereas remineralization—the breakdown of complex organic molecules back to inorganic forms—leads to carbon dioxide release. At which depth in the ocean remineralization occurs is crucial, as oceanic carbon sequestration—the export of particulate, but also dissolved carbon out of the upper ocean to below the maximum depth of near-surface seasonal mixing⁴—is an important aspect of climate regulation⁵,⁶.

In the global ocean the export path of particulate matter was found to be controlled by particle properties such as size, density and porosity³,<fnref n="7" />, interactions with microbes and metazoans⁸, and mesoscale hydrodynamics⁹,¹⁰. Passive sinking of particulate matter such as detritus, faecal pellets and other particles—which may also combine to form macroscopic aggregates (>0.5 mm) termed marine snow¹¹—plays a major role in the export of particulate organic matter to depth¹². Mortality and defecation of zooplankton and nekton organisms that migrate daily between the surface layer, where they feed at night-time, and mesopelagic depth, where they hide from visual predation during daytime, also causes a substantial active flux of particulate organic matter to depth¹³⁻¹⁶. Marine snow aggregates, sinking at tens to hundreds of metres per day<fnref n="7" />,¹⁷, have been linked to intense flux events in the deep sea¹⁸. However, recent observations indicate that smaller, slowly sinking particles also contribute significantly to particulate matter flux in the upper 500 m of the ocean¹⁹,²⁰. Their source seems to be the disaggregation

of larger particles and faecal pellets at depth, for example through fragmentation by zooplankton²¹⁻²³. Because their slow settling speed exposes them to bacterial remineralization, the contribution of small particles to total particle flux below 1,000 m depth was thought to be negligible¹⁹.

Seasonally and regionally increased net primary production in the equatorial Atlantic and Pacific oceans²⁴,²⁵ is linked to enhanced nutrient supply via Ekman-driven equatorial upwelling²⁶, diapycnal mixing²⁷ and horizontal advection²⁴ (see also Fig. 1, Supplementary Figs 1–6). Sediment trap measurements¹² and independent particle size spectra observations²⁸⁻³⁰ confirm the link between high surface productivity and carbon sequestration in these regions, but the path that settling particles take through the meso- and bathypelagic towards the abyssal ocean below 4,000 m depth is uncertain. Mean Atlantic and Pacific equatorial zonal current velocities are on the order of 10 km d⁻<fnref n="1" /> for the deep and intermediate currents and up to 100 km d⁻<fnref n="1" /> for the Equatorial Undercurrent³¹,³², with mean meridional current velocities generally an order of magnitude smaller than zonal ones³³,³⁴. How these currents impact vertical flux of particles having sinking velocities of tens to few hundred metres per day¹⁷ has until now remained unresolved.

## Equatorial currents and particulate matter distribution

We conducted several full-depth transects combining Underwater Vision Profiler 5 (UVP5) (ref. 35) and Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler (ADCP) measurements to study the mechanisms of equatorial particle dynamics in more detail. Our Lowered-ADCP (L-ADCP) measurements in the Pacific and Atlantic support earlier

<footnote n="1">¹GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel, Düsternbrooker Weg 20, 24105 Kiel, Germany. ²Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, University of Kiel, 24148 Kiel, Germany. ³LEGOS, University of Toulouse, IRD, CNES, CNRS, UPS, 31400 Toulouse, France. ⁴University of Alaska Fairbanks, College of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences, Fairbanks, Alaska 99775-7220, USA. ⁵CNRS, UMR 7093, Laboratoire d'Océanographie de Villefranche-sur-Mer (LOV), Observatoire Océanologique, F-06230 Villefranche-sur-Mer, France. ⁶Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, Palisades, New York 10964-8000, USA.</footnote>

<footnote n="7">⁷Sorbonne Universités, UPMC Univ Paris 06, UMR 7093, LOV, Observatoire Océanologique, F-06230 Villefranche-sur-Mer, France.</footnote>

<footnote>*e-mail: rkiko@geomar.de</footnote>
<figure><img src="image_2.png" /><figcaption>**Figure 1** | Primary production is enhanced at the Atlantic and Pacific equator and fuels marine equatorial snowfall. **a–j.** Satellite-derived mean annual net primary productivity for 2010 to 2015 (**d**) and particle abundance profiles (**a–c** and **e–j**) across the equator obtained between April 2010 and September 2015. Particle size range is 0.14 to 16.88 mm diameter. Net primary productivity values exceeding the colour scale are represented in white.</figcaption></figure>

studies³¹,³², showing that the intermediate and deep equatorial current systems of the Atlantic and Pacific consist of latitudinally alternating zonal jets with nearly depth-independent eastward flow at 2° N and 2° S (Figs 2 and 3). Furthermore, vertically alternating eastward and westward jets with a vertical extent of 300 to 700 m were again observed between about 1° N and 1° S (Figs 2 and 3). Our UVP5 observations reveal enhanced abundances of particles near the equator even at bathypelagic depth (Figs 1–3, Supplementary Table 1, Transects P5 and A1 to A3). Small, micrometric particles (MiPs; particles with 0.14 to 0.53 mm diameter) are almost exclusively confined to a 2° N to 2° S latitudinal band at the Atlantic and the central Pacific equator (Figs 2 and 3, Supplementary Table 2, Transects P5 and A1 to A3) consistent with a narrow latitudinal surface productivity (Fig. 1 and Supplementary Figs 1 and 3). A broader distribution of both satellite-derived primary productivity and MiP abundance at depth can be found in the less productive western part of the Pacific equator (Figs 1–3, Transects P3 and P4), outside of the major equatorial upwelling. The abundance of large macroscopic particles (MaPs; particles with 0.53 mm to 16.88 mm diameter) varies more strongly, but is also enhanced at the equator (Figs 2 and 3 and Supplementary Table 3). In contrast, particle abundance in the equatorial region of the Indian Ocean and surface productivity was found to be low (Fig. 1—Transect I1), which can be explained by the lack of steady equatorial easterlies, associated upwelling and the concomitant localized nutrient input into the euphotic zone at the equator.

Size-sinking speed relationships³⁶ suggest relatively high (20 to >100 m d⁻¹) sinking speeds and a locally constrained export route for MaPs. Our particle backtracking experiments show

that this also holds true for the equatorial system. Even the strong equatorial currents do not affect the export localization substantially when sinking speeds >50 m d⁻¹ are assumed (Supplementary Fig. 7). That upwelling precedes or coincides with the occurrence of MaPs even at bathypelagic depth indicates that a fast and deep penetrating flux is mainly generated in bloom situations, consistent with earlier observations of flux events¹⁸. Our observations at 23° W in September 2015 and November 2012 were preceded by upwelling (Supplementary Fig. 1, Transects A2 and A3) and MaP abundance at bathypelagic depth was about twofold higher in November 2012 (Fig. 2, Transect A3) compared to the non-upwelling situation in May 2014 (Fig. 2, Transect A1; see also Supplementary Table 3). Comparatively low MaP abundance at depth in September 2015 (Fig. 3, Transect A2) directly after the upwelling may be related to the rather episodic nature of flux events which, depending on the particle properties, can last only a few days⁶,¹⁷. Almost no MaPs were observed in May 2014, when sampling at 23° W (Fig. 2, Transect A1) was preceded by several months of increased surface temperatures and relatively low primary productivity (Supplementary Fig. 1). MaP abundance at depth was also low in the western Pacific (Fig. 3, Transects P3 and P4), where net primary productivity is low (Fig. 1 and Supplementary Figs 1 and 2), whereas it was high in the central Pacific (Fig. 3, Transect P5), where continuous upwelling was observed prior to sampling (Supplementary Fig. 3).

## Mesopelagic particle distribution and flux

An increase especially in MiP, but also in MaP abundance (Figs 2 and 3) and calculated particulate organic carbon (POC) flux³⁶ (Fig. 4) at about 200 to 600 m depth is a dominant feature
<figure><img src="image_3.png" /><figcaption>b</figcaption></figure>

<figure><img src="image_4.png" /><figcaption>c</figcaption></figure>

<figure><img src="image_5.png" /><figcaption>d</figcaption></figure>

<figure><img src="image_6.png" /><figcaption>e</figcaption></figure>

<figure><img src="image_7.png" /><figcaption>f</figcaption></figure>

<figure><img src="image_8.png" /><figcaption>g</figcaption></figure>

<figure><img src="image_9.png" /><figcaption>h</figcaption></figure>

<figure><img src="image_10.png" /><figcaption>i</figcaption></figure>

<figure><img src="image_11.png" /></figure>

**Figure 2** | Zonal current velocity and calculated POC content transects across the equatorial Atlantic at 23° W. **a-i,** Data were obtained in May 2014 (**a-c;** Transect A1); September 2015 (**d-f;** Transect A2); and November 2012 (**g-i;** Transect A3). From left to right: Zonal current velocity, MiP POC content and MaP POC content. Please note different scaling for MiP and MaP POC content. Eastward current velocity values exceeding the upper limit of the colour scale are represented in dark red.

<figure><img src="image_12.png" /><figcaption>b</figcaption></figure>

<figure><img src="image_13.png" /><figcaption>c</figcaption></figure>

<figure><img src="image_14.png" /><figcaption>d</figcaption></figure>

<figure><img src="image_15.png" /><figcaption>e</figcaption></figure>

<figure><img src="image_16.png" /><figcaption>f</figcaption></figure>

<figure><img src="image_17.png" /><figcaption>g</figcaption></figure>

<figure><img src="image_18.png" /><figcaption>h</figcaption></figure>

<figure><img src="image_19.png" /><figcaption>i</figcaption></figure>

<figure><img src="image_20.png" /></figure>

**Figure 3** | Zonal current velocity and calculated POC content transects across the equatorial Pacific at different longitudes. **a-i,** Data was obtained at 157.5° E (**a-c;** Transect P3) and 165° E (**d-f;** Transect P4) in August 2015, and at 151° W (**g-i;** Transect P5) in April 2015. From left to right: Zonal current velocity, MiP POC content and MaP POC content. Please note different scaling for MiP and MaP POC content. Eastward current velocity values exceeding the colour scale are represented in dark red.

at mesopelagic depth and seems to be an important step in particulate matter flux to depth. We observed this intermediate particle maximum (IPM) within the westward flowing Equatorial Intermediate Current (EIC; Fig. 2 transects A1 and A3, Fig. 3 transect P5), but also within extra-equatorial eastward currents (Fig. 2 transects A2 and A3, Fig. 3 transects P3 and P4). An IPM

within the EIC was also reported earlier²⁸⁻³⁰ and was suggested to be caused by meridional funnelling of slowly sinking particles towards the equator via a convergent equatorward flow at 100 to 300 m depth²⁸. More recent observations in the Atlantic³³ and Pacific³⁴ indicate that the equatorward meridional flow is relatively strong at
<figure><img src="image_21.png" /></figure>

**Figure 4** | POC flux increase coincides with diel vertical migration depth at the equatorial Atlantic and Pacific. Day-night difference in 38 kHz (blue) or 75 kHz (cyan) ADCP volumetric backscatter Sv (dB) observed between 1° S and 1° N. Shading indicates statistical difference of the signal to zero (one-sided Students t-test, *p*-value < 0.01). Red lines and shading indicate the calculated mean POC flux and standard deviation, respectively, averaged for the 1° S to 1° N section. Dotted black lines indicate the POC flux extrapolated from the POC flux observed at 100 m depth using a Martin-curve approach³⁸ with an exponent *b* = -0.86.

about 50 to 100 m depth, but weak below this depth. Particle tracking (Supplementary Videos 1–5 and Supplementary Fig. 8) also shows that small, slowly sinking particles observed in the EIC IPM in the Atlantic cannot be linked to such an export route from the surface. Very slowly sinking particles (0 to 2 m d⁻¹ sinking speed) are advected eastwards and off-equatorial, but fail to return to the equator, whereas faster sinking particles (>10 m d⁻¹ sinking speed) are not affected by the meridional flow. As we assume sinking speeds of 10 to 20 m d⁻¹ for the MiP size class and >20 m d⁻¹ for the MaP size class, it seems unlikely that the IPM signal in these size classes is caused by meridional funnelling. The rapid eastward transport of MiPs by the Equatorial Undercurrent below the surface down to 200 m depth would furthermore require a productive source region west of the 23° W section to sustain an increase in particle abundance at mesopelagic depth. Primary productivity west of the 23° W section, however, is comparatively low (Fig. 1). The fact that IPMs can also be observed outside the EIC in eastward and westward currents furthermore supports the interpretation that the IPM generation mechanism is not directly related to the equatorial current field.

Part of the flux that fuels the IPM could be brought to IPM depth through gut flux associated with the diel vertical migration of zooplankton and nekton. Diel migrators feed at the surface during night-time and migrate to mesopelagic depth during daytime where released faecal pellets constitute the active gut flux¹³⁻¹⁶,³⁷. At the Atlantic and Pacific equator the migration generally reaches 300–500 m depth³⁷. To sustain a POC increase of 0.08–0.11 mgC m⁻³ over a 400 m depth range, as observed in the strongest IPMs at Transects P5 and A3 would require POC

gut fluxes of 6.6–8.5 mgC m⁻² d⁻¹, respectively (Supplementary Fig. 9). Maximum mesozooplankton gut fluxes of 4.5 mgC m⁻² d⁻¹ to below 200 m depth were observed at the oligotrophic Bermuda Atlantic Time Series station¹³ and of 21.0 mgC m⁻² d⁻¹ for the North Atlantic¹⁴. Assuming that active POC gut flux can be approximated as 1%–4% of the migrating biomass (calculated from Table 4 in ref. 13 and Table 4 in ref. 14, respectively), results in maximum gut fluxes of 1.5–6.2 mgC m⁻² d⁻¹ associated with the migration of only mesozooplankton to below 120 m depth for the equatorial Pacific at 140° W (ref. 15). A study that also included micronekton revealed gut fluxes of 2.4–19.4 mgC m⁻² d⁻¹ associated with the migration of mesozooplankton and micronekton to below 160 m depth for the equatorial Pacific at 145° E (ref. 16). Comparison of day- and nighttime biomass distribution based on 75 and 38 kHz shipboard ADCP backscatter data (Fig. 4 and Supplementary Fig. 10) shows that an increase in acoustic scatterer biomass (size range of scatterers >5 and >10 mm, respectively) can be observed at the upper border of the IPM at 1° S to 1° N in the Atlantic and Pacific. In May 2014 (Fig. 4, transect A1) the increase in POC flux at depth is minor, coinciding with a relatively small increase in ADCP backscatter at depth (see also Supplementary Fig. 10, transect A1). Our analysis further shows that at this time of low migration activity the extrapolation of the POC flux from surface values to depth using the often-cited Martin-curve approach³⁸ seems reasonable. Importantly, the Martin-curve approach that assumes a decline of particulate matter flux according to a power law with an exponent of −0.86 fails to explain the POC flux increase at IPM depth when strong migration activity was observed. Zooplankton and nekton gut fluxes reported in or calculated from the literature¹³⁻¹⁶ would therefore largely suffice to explain the IPM, and our analysis suggests a consistency between migration activity and POC flux increase at IPM depth.

## Bathypelagic particle distribution and flux

Bathypelagic POC flux averaged for the 1,100–1,300 m and the 2,900–3,100 m depth layers inside the equatorial belt at 1° S to 1° N is generally elevated in comparison to the off-equatorial regions and enhanced by up to a factor of three (Fig. 5; see also Supplementary Table 4). These observations are in line with earlier sediment trap studies that show enhanced POC flux in the equatorial upwelling regions of the Atlantic and Pacific¹². Enhanced MaP flux during or after times of high upwelling activity at the equator seems to be one factor in POC flux increase at the equator. MiP POC content and flux are almost constant throughout the entire bathypelagic depth range and shape the baseline flux with elevated values at the Atlantic and western Pacific equator (Figs 2, 3 and 5 and Supplementary Table 2). Importantly, MiPs fuel on average 65 to 86% of total POC flux at the Pacific and 78–80% at the Atlantic equator at 2,900–3,100 m depth. These observations are contrary to the assumption that small particles contribute little to particulate matter flux below 1,000 m depth¹⁹.

Many global biogeochemical models parameterize a downward increasing sinking speed of marine particles³⁹,⁴⁰, attributing particle flux at bathypelagic depth to MaPs⁴¹. Also the often-applied power-law flux function⁴² approximates to vertically increasing sinking speed and/or vertically decreasing remineralization rates⁴³. These assumptions are made because slow sinking particles formed at the surface should be remineralized at shallower depth, precluding their penetration to depth. However, we observe high concentrations of MiPs at bathypelagic depth, an observation contrary to these model assumptions. Assuming sinking speeds between 10 and 20 m d⁻¹ (calculated from the size limits of the MiP class and published size-sinking speed relationships³⁶) and remineralization rates between 0.03–0.12 d⁻¹ (ref. 44), MiP transfer to 3,000 m depth of at least 150 days would exceed their lifetime. Likewise, if we assume a maximum sinking speed of 15 m d⁻¹ and a remineralization rate of 0.05 d⁻¹, only 0.005% of the export flux
<figure><img src="image_22.png" /></figure>

**Figure 5** | POC flux at bathypelagic depth is dominated by micrometric particles and enhanced at the equator. **a–q**, Calculated MiP (dark grey) and MaP POC flux (light grey) averaged for 650–750 m (**a–f**), 1,100–1,300 m (**g–i**) and 2,900–3,100 m depth bins (**m–q**). Total POC flux is indicated by the entire shaded area. Percentage of MiP flux to total flux for each sampled profile is indicated by coloured dots at the bottom of each panel. Diamonds refer to published¹² annual averages (white) or weekly measurements from the observation season (grey) of POC flux from sediment trap data.

will reach 3,000 m depth. To sustain the observed MiP POC flux of ~2 mgC m⁻² d⁻¹ at 3,000 m depth exclusively via MiPs would therefore require an export flux of ~32,000 mgC m⁻² d⁻¹, which by far exceeds the observed production in this region (Fig. 1). A suggested very low⁴⁵, or vertically decreasing⁴⁶, degradability could explain the transport of these particles to depth: to sustain the observed MiP POC flux of ~2 mgC m⁻² d⁻¹ at 3,000 m depth exclusively via MiPs, and assuming complete export of surface production of ~800 mgC m⁻² d⁻¹ as MiPs (Fig. 1), would therefore require a remineralization rate of 0.03 d⁻¹, which is at the lower end of observed estimates for marine aggregates, measured at 4 °C (ref. 44). However, recent observations suggest that remineralization rates of small, slowly sinking particles are enhanced in comparison to larger, faster sinking particles²³. As an alternative hypothesis we suggest that MiPs are generated at depth through shedding from or disintegration of larger, fast sinking MaPs, following a period of several weeks of microbial colonization and attack⁴⁷ during the MaPs relatively fast (>20 m d⁻¹ and up to >100 m d⁻¹; ref. 17) descent to depth. Zooplankton-mediated fragmentation³,²¹⁻²³ might also play a role at bathypelagic depth, although encounter rates should be low due to relatively low zooplankton and MaP abundances.

As noted, MiPs in the bathypelagic zone are especially abundant between 2° S and 2° N and form a veil of small particles that can be observed down to the sea floor (Figs 2 and 3; Transects A1 to A3 and P5). Enhanced MiP abundance is likely related to the enhanced productivity at the surface and resultant stronger active and passive export of particulate matter in general. However, the deep equatorial current system also seems to favour the maintenance of this veil of small particles, as suggested by spatially coherent current and particle patterns. By enhancing the meridional gradient of potential vorticity⁴⁸, the largely depth-independent flanking eastward jets prevent the poleward dispersion of particles away from the

equatorial belt⁴⁹. The intermediate and deep equatorial jet system therefore constrains the latitudinal and favours the longitudinal extent of enhanced MiP abundance, and also contributes to a zonal advection of particulate matter from the more productive eastern areas.

## Conclusions

Our results suggest that gut flux via diel vertical migration creates a strong deviation of particle flux from the often-assumed power-law function for particle flux³⁸, shuttling particulate matter to the mesopelagic layer and thereby enhancing particulate matter flux to the bathypelagic. Contrary to model assumptions that assign bathypelagic particle flux to large, fast sinking particles³⁹⁻⁴², we observe that bathypelagic particle flux is mainly maintained by an almost constant flux of rather small particles down to >4,000 m depth. The poleward dispersion of this veil of particles is prevented by a high gradient of potential vorticity of the deep equatorial jets. Zooplankton diel vertical migrations, particulate matter disintegration, and the intermediate and deep equatorial currents seem key in the generation and maintenance of marine equatorial snowfall and for carbon sequestration in the deep ocean.

## Methods

Methods, including statements of data availability and any associated accession codes and references, are available in the online version of this paper.

Received 2 July 2017; accepted 8 September 2017; published online 9 October 2017

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## Acknowledgements

This study was supported by the German Science Foundation through the Collaborative Research Center 754 'Climate-Biogeochemistry Interactions in the Tropical Ocean' and by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research through the cooperative project 'RACE'. The enthusiastic and continued support of UVP5 operations and maintenance by Jerome Coindat and Sylvain Fevre (Hydroptic) is gratefully acknowledged. For the Tara Oceans expedition we thank the commitment of the CNRS (in particular Groupement de Recherche GDR3280), European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL), Genoscope/CEA, VIB, Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn, UNIMIB, Fund for Scientific Research—Flanders, Rega Institute, KU Leuven, The French Ministry of Research and the French Government 'Investissements d'Avenir' programmes OCEANOMICS (ANR-11-BTBR-0008). We are also grateful for the support and commitment of Agnès b. and Etienne Bourgois, the Veolia Environment Foundation, Région Bretagne, Lorient Agglomération, World Courier, Illumina, the EDF Foundation, FRB and the Prince Albert II de Monaco Foundation. This article is contribution number 59 from Tara Oceans. The contributions of M.P. and L.S. were supported by the Chair VISION of the CNRS and UPMC. A.M. acknowledges support from the National Science Foundation, the US Global Ocean Carbon and Repeat Hydrography Program, and the University of Alaska Fairbanks. US GO_SHIP funding through NSF OCE-1437015 is gratefully acknowledged for the acquisition of the P16N L-ADCP data. S.C. and F.M. acknowledge support by the French national programme LEFE/INSU (ZEBRE) and IRD, which also supported the CASSIOPEE cruise. The backward tracking experiments and the underlying ocean model integrations were performed at the North-German Supercomputing Alliance (HLRN) and the computing centre at Kiel University. We would like to thank captains and crews of RV Meteor, RV Maria S. Merian, RV Ron Brown, RV L'Atalante and the Tara schooner for their support, P. Vandromme for
conducting UVP5 deployments during RV Meteor cruise M119, DT-INSU and US-IMAGO for the acquisition and processing of CTD, L-ADCP and UVP5 measurements and G. Eldin for the shipboard ADCP data from the CASSIOPEE cruise. Furthermore, we would like to thank G. Krahmann for processing of L-ADCP and CTD data from RV Meteor cruises M106 and M119 and RV Maria S Merian cruise MSM22, as well as H. Mehtens for help with data management. F. Melzner and C. Bowler provided very valuable comments on the article.

**Author contributions**

R.K. and L.S. led the project and designed the study. A.M.P.M., H.H., M.P., L.S., I.K. and R.K. processed and analysed UVP5 data. F.U.S. and A.B. conducted particle backtracking simulations. P.B., R.H., A.M.T., S.C. and F.M. provided CTD and ADCP data. R.K.

compiled all data and led the drafting of the manuscript. All authors contributed to the interpretation of the results and provided substantial input to the manuscript.

**Additional information**

Supplementary information is available in the [online version of the paper](https://www.nature.com/reprints). Reprints and permissions information is available online at [www.nature.com/reprints](https://www.nature.com/reprints). Publisher's note: Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. Correspondence and requests for materials should be addressed to R.K.

**Competing financial interests**

The authors declare no competing financial interests.
## Methods

Satellite-derived sea surface temperature and primary production estimates were retrieved from http://www.science.oregonstate.edu/ocean productivit y (MODIS based Eppley-VGPM¹). High-resolution full-depth particle size spectra (0.14 mm to 26.8 mm equivalent spherical diameter, ESD) were obtained with an Underwater Vision Profiler 5 (UVP5; ref. 30). The UVP5 was mounted on a Rosette equipped with a Seabird SBE 11plus CTD, an upward- and a downward-looking ADCP. Particle data shown in Fig. 1 to Fig. 3 was averaged in 20-m-depth bins and regridded on a 600 × 150 (latitude × depth) grid using the function grid data from the Python module scipy. A 38 kHz and/or a 75 kHz shipboard ADCP were continuously run during transect occupations. To estimate diel vertical migration depth and intensity, ADCP echo intensity was transformed into volumetric backscatter $S_v$ (dB) (ref. 50) and 4.8 h (0.2 days) of daytime or night-time data from each day during which the ship operated between 1° S and 1° N were selected. To statistically test for differences in ADCP volumetric backscatter, daytime and night-time data were averaged in 10 time intervals of 28.8 min lengths and the daytime values were subtracted from the night-time values to obtain the difference in volumetric backscatter that indicates differences in biomass distribution.

A one-sided Student's t-test was conducted to identify differences of the mean of the ten resulting values from zero ($p$-value < 0.01) and the mean was calculated to visualize the differences in biomass distribution during day- and night-time. The organism or particle size that contributes to the acoustic backscatter depends on the acoustic frequency or wavelength ($\lambda$). The minimum size of particles that influences the sound scattering can be estimated⁵¹ to be (0.25–0.5) × $\lambda$. With $\lambda \approx 20$ mm for a 75 kHz instrument and $\lambda \approx 39.5$ mm for a 38 kHz instrument, scatterers must be larger than 5–10 mm, and 10–20 mm, respectively. Therefore, large copepods, euphausiids and small pelagic fishes contribute most to the ADCP backscatter signal. The simulation of the relative particle distribution in backward tracking experiments was conducted with a Lagrangian model⁵² using output from the high-resolution ocean general circulation model TRATL01 (refs 53,54). A few hundred thousand particles were seeded across the equatorial Atlantic at 23° W at 300 to 500 m (IPM depth) or at 3,000 m depth. Particles with sinking speeds of 10 or 50 m d⁻¹ were advected backwards using 5-daily varying three-dimensional velocities from the ocean general circulation model. With 1/10° horizontal resolution, 46 vertical levels and a realistic atmospheric forcing, TRATL01 realistically simulates the spatio-temporal structure of the equatorial current system⁵³, however, with still to weak intermediate and deep circulation along the equator⁵³. POC flux was calculated assuming that particle mass and sinking speed can be calculated using empirically derived relationships for marine aggregates

(see ref. 36, reference 2a of Table 1 and reference 9 of Table 2 for mass and sinking speed of a particle, respectively). Assuming a carbon:nitrogen ratio of 106:16, this yields an expression for the sinking flux of a size class characterized by its diameter ESD (in cm) of 2.8649 ESD²,²⁴ (mgC m d⁻¹). Multiplying with the particle number in this size class (in particles m⁻³), and integrating over all size classes between 0.014–1.688 cm, we obtain the total POC flux (mgC m⁻² d⁻¹) for this size range. Flux calculations based on optical measurements have limitations as they are based on assumptions of the sinking speed and carbon content of the particles observed. The parameterization used was derived from *in situ* measurements of particulate matter sinking speeds and carbon content, and has been shown to best reproduce profiles of marine snow and particulate organic matter at the same time³⁶.

**Data availability.** All UVP5 data, L-ADCP data from all cruises except the 2015 occupation of the P16N section by RV Ron Brown, as well as shipboard ADCP volumetric backscatter data that support the findings of this study, are available at https://doi.pangaea.de/10.1594/PANGAEA.874873. L-ADCP data from RV Ron Brown cruise is available at https://currents.soest.hawaii.edu/go-ship/ladcp/2015_P16N.html. Net primary productivity data used in Fig. 1 were obtained from http://orca.science.oregonstate.edu/1080.by.2160.monthly.hdf.eppley.m.chl.m.sst.php.

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