Phosphorus (P) is essential for life, but most of the global surface ocean is P depleted, which can limit marine productivity and affect ecosystem structure. Over recent decades, a wealth of new knowledge has revolutionized our understanding of the marine P cycle. With a revised residence time (~10–20 kyr) that is similar to nitrate and a growing awareness that P transformations are under tight and elaborate microbial control, the classic textbook version of a tectonically slow and biogeochemically simple marine P cycle has become outdated. P moves throughout the world’s oceans with a higher level of complexity than has ever been appreciated before, including a vast, yet poorly understood, P redox cycle. Here, we illustrate an oceanographically integral view of marine P by reviewing recent advances in the coupled cycles of P with carbon, nitrogen and metals in marine systems. Through this lens, P takes on a more dynamic and connected role in marine biogeochemistry than previously acknowledged, which points to unclear yet profound potential consequences for marine ecosystems, particularly under anthropogenic influence.

磷 (P) 是生命所必需的，但全球大部分海洋表层磷已耗尽，这会限制海洋生产力并影响生态系统结构。近几十年来，大量新知识彻底改变了我们对海洋磷循环的理解。随着与硝酸盐相似的修订停留时间 (~10-20 kyr) 以及 P 转化受到严格和精细的微生物控制的越来越多的认识，构造缓慢且生物地球化学简单的海洋 P 循环的经典教科书版本已经过时。P 以前所未有的复杂程度在世界海洋中移动，包括一个巨大但知之甚少的 P 氧化还原循环。在这里，我们通过回顾 P 与碳耦合循环的最新进展来说明海洋 P 的海洋学整体观点，海洋系统中的氮和金属。从这个角度来看，P 在海洋生物地球化学中扮演着比以前承认的更具活力和关联性的角色，这表明对海洋生态系统的潜在影响尚不清楚但意义深远，尤其是在人为影响下。