Export production - (n.)

The amount of matter produced in the photic zone of the oceans (where light can penetrate) which is then exported to deeper waters. It is commonly used to mean organic matter export or organic carbon flux downward. When measuring the amount of material settling from the sunlit zone it is found that the export production is much greater in the coastal ocean close to land than in the open ocean. However, there is one exception to this rule: right at the equator the export also is rather large over much of the ocean, due to the high productivity found there. See also "Productivity."