Geochemical Characteristics of Particulate Organic Carbon in the Kocebu Seamount Waters of the Western Pacific Ocean in Spring 2018

The study of the geochemical characteristics of the POC in the seamount area will be of great significance for further understanding the material cycle process in the seamount ecosystem. Based on a comprehensive survey of the Kocebu seamount in the Western Pacific Ocean in March, 2018, the distribution, source and composition of Particulate Organic Carbon (POC) in the seawater of the Kocebu seamount area were discussed. The results showed that the concentration of POC in the Kocebu seamount area gradually decreased with the increasing water depth, and slightly rose in the water layers near the bottom of the seamount. The average concentration of POC in each water mass was sorted from high to low in the order of North Pacific Tropic Water, North Pacific Intermediate Water and Deep Water (DW), and the concentration of POC at stations near the seamount summit was lower than that far from the seamount in the DW. There was upwelling at the water layers of 750~1 500 m above the seamount summit, causing the uplift of the 12.50 μg/L POC isoline in this region, however, no “seamount effect” was formed. The POC was mainly imported from the sea with an average POC/PON of 3.75. At the water layers of 0~300 m, only the POC/chlorophyll a (Chl a) at deep chlorophyll maximum layer was less than 200, indicating that the POC in this region was mainly in a form of life, while at the water layer of 300 m, the POC/Chl a increased sharply, indicating that the non-living POC contributed the most to the total POC.