Fig. 4: Distribution of benthic foraminiferal storage.
From: Widespread occurrence and relevance of phosphate storage in foraminifera
a,b, Maps showing the distribution of benthic foraminiferal phosphate storage in the Southern North Sea (a) and off Peru (b). Benthic foraminiferal phosphate storage was estimated using the composition of living benthic foraminiferal assemblages from 135 stations in the Southern North Sea51,52,53,54,55,56,57 and 35 off Peru1,29 (for details of calculations, see Methods). Maps show the weighted mean. Circles and numbers indicate regional riverine phosphate58 runoff (a) and total P (ref. 59) runoff (b). More detailed budget calculations show that benthic foraminifera might buffer approximately 37 days of riverine phosphate runoff to the Southern North Sea, and roughly 21 days of riverine total P runoff to the Peruvian coast between 10° S and 15° S (Supplementary Note SN8). Maps were generated using Ocean Data View software60.
