The ocean’s biological carbon pump is commonly quantified through gravitational particle sinking, but this framework does not fully capture rapid physical pathways that transfer surface carbon into the ocean interior. This gap is especially relevant in mid- and low-latitude oceans, where mesoscale and submesoscale dynamics are widespread but their contribution to carbon export remains poorly constrained. Here, we identify physical carbon subduction hotspots across the North Pacific and show that their spatial distribution reflects regional dynamical regimes. Individual events can generate particulate carbon fluxes more than an order of magnitude larger than local sediment-trap fluxes, although their integrated contribution is moderated by their episodic occurrence. The regional contrasts show that the contribution of physical carbon subduction is strongly modulated by dynamical setting, rather than by background productivity alone. Our findings identify physical carbon subduction as an intermittent but regionally important component of carbon export and provide an observational basis for incorporating this pathway into regional carbon budgets, ocean observing strategies, and biogeochemical models.
 

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