Wintertime rates of net primary production and nitrate and ammonium uptake in the southern Benguela upwelling system

The elevated levels of primary productivity associated with eastern boundary currents are driven by nutrient- rich waters upwelled from depth, such that these regions are typically characterised by high rates of nitrate-fuelled phytoplankton growth. Production studies from the southern Benguela upwelling system (SBUS) tend to be biased towards the summer upwelling season, yet winter data are required to compute annual budgets and understand seasonal variability. Net primary production (NPP) and nitrate and ammonium uptake were measured concurrently at six stations in the SBUS in early winter. While euphotic zone NPP was highest at the stations nearest to the coast and declined with distance from the shore, a greater proportion was potentially exportable from open-ocean surface waters, as indicated by the higher specific nitrate uptake rates and f-ratios (ratio of nitrate uptake to total nitrogen consumption) at the stations located off the continental shelf. Near the coast, phytoplankton growth was predominantly supported by ammonium despite the high ambient nitrate concentrations. Along with ammonium concentrations as high as 3.6 µmol l^–1, this strongly suggests that nitrate uptake in the inshore SBUS, and by extension carbon drawdown, is inhibited by ammonium, at least in winter, although this has also been hypothesised for the summer.     

沙尘粒子在我国内陆传输过程中对硫酸盐和硝酸盐生成的影响

2001年春季在青岛采集了3次沙尘暴过境时的大气气溶胶粒子，并利用单个气溶胶粒子分析方法对沙尘粒子含有硫酸盐和硝酸盐的状况进行了分析研究。结果发现3％～13％的沙尘粒子含有硫酸盐，6％～10％的沙尘粒子含有硝酸盐。这些比例远小于无沙尘时北京、青岛等城市污染大气中矿物粒子所含这些成分的比例，表明沙尘粒子在从内陆源区传输到沿海地区的过程中对大气中硫酸盐和硝酸盐生成的促进作用远不如城市污染大气中的矿物粒子明显。     

The chemical characteristics of aerosols in the Kuroshio area——Ⅰ. Sources and fluxes

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Statistical analysis of estuarine profiles: III. Application to nitrate,nitrite and ammonium in the Tamar estuary

Estuarine profiles of nitrate, nitrite and ammonium concentration taken over a period of six years were analysed by a statistical procedure. While nitrate profiles indicate conservative mixing, those of nitrite and ammonium exhibit maxima indicative of an estuarine input. Calculations using an advective analogue suggest that production of nitrite by oxidation throughout the water column would require unduly high populations of nitrifying bacteria (>10⁶ cells l⁻¹). Sedimentary production rates required to sustain the observed nitrite maxima are compatible with combined nitrification and denitrification rates observed elsewhere (1–2μmol m⁻² d⁻¹). The relative displacement of the nitrite and ammonium maxima and the frequent presence of a turbidity maximum in the Tamar estuary suggest that nitrite production in the sediment is probably augmented by water column nitrification in the region of the freshwater/brackish water interface. Simulations on the advective analogue provide circumstantial support for this suggestion.     

Biogeochemical processes in a freshwater–seawater mixing zone in permeable sediments along the coast of Southern Brazil

The southern portion of the Brazilian coast is dominated by coastal lagoons formed by sandy barrier spits with small inlets. This coastal configuration is a barrier to the surface flow of freshwater to the sea; thus, we suspect that a significant amount of freshwater flows through the permeable sands, beneath the barrier spits, where it mixes with seawater. We excavated an 18-m-deep well into the barrier spit which separates the Patos Lagoon from the South Atlantic. Using this well, we were able to sample interstitial waters from discrete layers, at 1-m intervals, which were analyzed for salinity, temperature, pH, nutrients (ammonium, nitrate, phosphate, and silicate), uranium, molybdenum, and barium. Similar analyses were made on surface water samples from the Patos Lagoon estuarine mixing zone.Results of well samples show a continuous increase in salinity with depth reaching 18 at the bottom. Ammonium and silicate are high, generally around 100 and 100–150 μM, respectively, throughout the subterranean profile. Phosphate shows a distinct maximum at about 6 m (ca. 25 μM), and nitrate is generally low in all well samples. Uranium and molybdenum exhibit a minimum in the well profile at about the same location where barium exhibits a maximum (greater than 2 μM). When results are compared to the surface lagoon–seawater mixing data, ammonium, phosphate, silicate, and barium in well samples of similar salinity show considerable enrichment, while a comparison of uranium and molybdenum data indicates significant depletion of these metals in most well samples.Based on these and other data, we deduce that the following processes are active: products of remineralization of organic detritus accumulated in lagoon sediments are advected through permeable sediments to the oceans; dissolution of biogenic solids and/or solid silicates mobilizes silicate; phosphate, uranium, and molybdenum are mobilized from phosphate-rich sediment layers; sulfate reducers remove uranium and perhaps molybdenum from solution throughout most of the well profile; barium is desorbed from solids in the subterranean mixing zone. These results demonstrate that freshwater discharged to the ocean through permeable sediments may have a significantly different composition than that discharged at the surface.     

Nutrient distributions and new production in polar regions: parallels and contrasts between the Arctic and Antarctic

Polar regions are poorly understood components of global biogeochemical cycles. This paper discusses the influences of nitrate and ammonium concentrations on nitrate uptake (and hence new production), particularly with regard to data collected within marginal ice zones in the Arctic and Antarctic. Subsurface ammonium maxima in waters over 150 m are frequently encountered in the Arctic and occasionally in the Antarctic. Such maxima result from the heterotrophic remineralization of organic matter, and because stratified environments occur more frequently in the Arctic, significant concentrations of ammonium accumulate as a result of lower diffusive losses. Causal agents (bacteria vs. Zooplankton) may also be different in the Arctic from those in the Antarctic. Elevated ammonium concentrations significantly reduce nitrate uptake, and it is suggested that this nutrient interaction may play a significant role in controlling new production, particularly in open water regions. The new production of the Southern Ocean is estimated, and it is suggested that the production and flux from the surface layer is significant relative to the world's oceans.     

海洋浮游生物氮吸收动力学及其粒级特征

于１９９１年秋－１９９２年夏在中国科学院生态网络站之一的胶州湾进行了４个季节的现场实验，运用＾１５Ｎ同位素示踪方法研究胶州湾浮游生物群落对两种主要源铵态氮和硝态氮的吸收动力学及其粒级特征。研究初步阐明自然浮游生物落在不同季节，对不同氮源的吸收特性和受控机制，首次在群落水平上给出不同粒级浮游生物氮吸收特征的定量描述，从而为新生产力研究，生态系能流分配和生源要素生物地化循环研究提供重要参数。     

Variation of sulfate aerosol concentrations over the western Pacific and their effect on clouds, radiation and precipitation

Under bilateral cooperation between the United States of America and the People's Republic of China, a series of research cruises were conducted over the western Pacific Ocean. It was found that a) the non-sea-salt sulfate aerosol particles are the major source of cloud condensation nuclei, b) the population of clouds and the total albedo are proportional to the concentration of condensation nuclei and consequently to the concentration of the non-sea-salt aerosol particles, and c) the amount of rainfall is inversely proportional to the concentration of non-sea-salt sulfate aerosol particles. It seems that anthropogenic sulfate aerosol particles affect the regional planetary albedo and climate and that the contribution from biogenically derived sulfate aerosol particles is of lesser importance.     

Ammonium uptake kinetics and interactions between nitrate and ammonium uptake inChattonella antiqua

Ammonium uptake kinetics and interactions between nitrate and ammonium uptake were examined inChattonella antiqua. After the addition of ammonium to the culture ofC. antiqua, the ammonium concentration decreased linearly with time. The ammonium uptake rate as a function of ammonium concentration followed the Michaelis-Menten equation; the maximal uptake rate was 2.0 pmol cell^–1hr^–1 and the half saturation constant, 2.2M. Although the ammonium uptake was not affected by nitrate, uptake of nitrate was rapidly (15min) suppressed by ammonium and a 50% reduction in nitrate uptake was observed at an ammonium concentration ofca. 2M.     

Reanalysis of the Atmospheric Flux of Nutrient Elements to the Southern Yellow Sea and the East China Sea

Based on the recent research results on dry and wet deposition of nutrient elements and sulphate,we estimate the atmospheric flux of nutrient elements and sulphate to the southern Yellow Sea and the East China Sea in each season.The results suggest that the concentrations of nutrient elements and sulphate in aerosol and precipitation show an apparent seasonal cycle with the maximum values in winter and the minimum values in summer.Depositions of nitrate and sulphate are dominated by wet deposition,while the deposition for phosphate is mainly dry deposition.Moreover,compared with the riverine inputs,the atmospheric deposition may be the main source of dissolved inorganic nutrients in the southern Yellow Sea and the East China Sea.     

The nitrogen cycle of an East Coast, U.K. saltmarsh: II. Nitrogen fixation, nitrification, denitrification, tidal exchange

Measurements of nitrogen fixation (acetylene reduction) showed greatest rates in the saltmarsh pans with a benthic layer of cyanobacteria present. The smallest amount of nitrogen fixation occurred on the marsh surface where a Puccinellia maritima/Halimione portulacoides plant association shaded the underlying sediment. Phototrophic nitrogen fixation was always greater than dark, chemotrophic, bacterial fixation.Only a small proportion of the total amount of ammonium, which was formed during detrital breakdown, was nitrified to nitrate. Although there is a high capacity for bacterial nitrate reduction in these sediments, the process is limited by low nitrate availability and most nitrate upon reduction is converted to ammonium rather than being denitrified to gaseous products. Denitrification does not, therefore, result in any great loss of nitrogen from the saltmarsh.There was little net import or export of nitrogen on an annual basis, although nitrate and organic-N in small particulate material was removed from tidal water by the marsh, and there was net annual export of ammonium, dissolved organic-N and organic-N in large particulate material. Losses of nitrogen by the small net tidal export and by denitrification were approximately balanced by nitrogen fixation. It was concluded that the nitrogen cycle of the Colne Point saltmarsh was balanced on an annual basis, with most nitrogen being recycled within the marsh. The saltmarsh did not apparently act as a net source of nitrogen for the adjacent estuary, although it may act as an important processor of nitrogen, removing some forms of nitrogen such as nitrate from tidal water while exporting other forms of nitrogen such as dissolved organic-N.     

Bacterial production of anomalously high dissolved sulfate concentrations in Peru slope sediments: steady-state sulfur oxidation,or transient response to end of El Niño?

Concentrations of dissolved sulfate and sulfur isotopic ratios of dissolved sulfide in surface sediments of the Peru shelf and upper slope indicate that the sediments can be divided into two depth intervals based on the dominant biogeochemical reactions. Although rates of bacterial sulfate reduction are high throughout Peru surface sediments, chemistry of the upper interval (<10–20 cm) is dominated by chemoautotrophic oxidation of dissolved sulfide and elemental sulfur, while the lower interval (>10–20 cm) is dominated by dissimilatory sulfate reduction. In three of the four cores examined here, pore water concentrations of sulfate in the top 10 cm of the sediment are significantly higher than those of the overlying seawater. Peak sulfate concentrations in pore water (37–53 mmol/l) are ∼1.3–1.9 times that of seawater sulfate and are located 1–6 cm below the sediment/water interface (SWI). The excess sulfate is most likely produced by oxidation of elemental sulfur coupled to reduction of nitrate, a reaction mediated by a facultative chemoautotrophic sulfide-oxidizing bacterium, Thioploca spp. Numerical simulations demonstrate that the anomalously high concentrations of dissolved sulfate can be produced by steady-state or non-steady-state processes involving high rates of bacterial oxidation of elemental sulfur. If bacterial sulfur oxidation is a transient phenomenon, then it is probably triggered by seasonal or El Niño-induced changes in water-column chemistry of the Peru undercurrent.     

Low flow water chemistry in forested and pasture catchments,Mawheraiti River,Westland

Water samples taken at 19 locations in the Mawheraiti River catchment at weekly intervals during 1979–80 were analysed for sodium, magnesium, potassium, calcium, phosphate, nitrate, and ammonium ion concentrations and for electrical conductivity. Seasonal discharge effects were apparent, and lithology and land management practice also influenced solute concentrations. Solute concentrations were generally very low; nitrate and soluble phosphate were rarely greater than 0.05 mg.L^‐1 and ammonium was rarely greater than 0.01 mg.L^‐1. The 4 major cations (Na, Mg, K, and Ca) usually summed to less than 6 mg.L^‐1 much of which was supplied by precipitation. Forest management (clearfelling and slash‐burning) caused significant increases in solute concentrations, but concentrations declined rapidly during succeeding months and approached pretreatment levels after 2–3 years. The higher concentrations associated with forest management in small experimental catchments were rapidly diluted downstream; together with the low natural solute concentrations this suggests that harmful downstream effects of management practices are unlikely under low flow conditions.     

Nitrogen cycling in the southern North Sea: consequences for total nitrogen transport

Nitrate and ammonium uptake rates were measured during a series of cruises in the well-mixed region of the southern North Sea from February to September. Water column-integrated uptake rates ranged between 0.01 and 8.7 mmol N m⁻² d⁻¹ and 0.01 and 12.2 mmol N m⁻² d⁻¹ for nitrate and ammonium, respectively, with ammonium uptake dominating after the phytoplankton spring bloom in May. A moored buoy continuously measuring nitrate and chlorophyll a and seabed current meters were also deployed in the central southern North Sea in the region of the East Anglian plume—a permanent physical feature which transports nutrients towards continental Europe. This enabled the flux of water and hence of nutrients across the southern North Sea to be determined and an assessment of the contribution of freshwater nutrients to the flux to be made. A simple box model is developed to relate the phytoplankton uptake of nitrate and ammonium to the transport of nitrate, ammonium and particulate organic matter (POM) across the southern North Sea. This showed the importance of the plume region of the North Sea in the processing of nitrogen, with nitrate dominating total nitrogen transport prior to the spring bloom (10 340×10³ kg N inflow to the plume in March) and transport of nitrogen as ammonium, nitrate and POM in approximately equivalent amounts during summer (2560, 2960 and 2151×10³ kg N inflow to the plume, respectively, in July). The box model also demonstrates more generally the need to assess nitrogen transport as nitrate, ammonium and POM if an improved understanding of the impact of nutrient input in shelf seas is to be achieved.     

Variations of the aerosol concentration and chemical composition over the arid steppe zone of Southern Russia in summer

Variations in the surface aerosol over the arid steppe zone of Southern Russia have been measured. The parameters of atmospheric aerosol (mass concentration, both dispersed and elemental compositions) and meteorological parameters were measured in Tsimlaynsk raion (Rostov oblast). The chemical composition of aerosol particles in the atmospheric surface layer has been determined, and the coefficients of enrichment of elements with respect to clarkes in the Earth’s crust have been calculated. It is shown that, in summer, arid aerosols are transported from both alkaline and sandy soils of Kalmykia to the air basin over the observation zone. Aerosol particles in the surface air layer over this region have been found to contain the products of combustion of oil, coal, and ethylized fuel. These combustion products make a small contribution to the total mass concentration of atmospheric aerosol; however, they are most hazardous to the health of people because of their sizes and heavy-metal contents. A high concentration of submicron sulfur-containing aerosol particles of chemocondensation nature has been recorded. Sources of aerosol of both natural and anthropogenic origins in southern Russia are discussed.     

Dry and wet deposition of nutrients from the tropical Atlantic atmosphere: Links to primary productivity and nitrogen fixation

Atmospheric deposition fluxes of soluble nutrients (N, P, Si, Fe, Co, Zn) to the tropical North Atlantic were determined during cruise M55 of the German SOLAS programme. Nutrient fluxes were highest in the east of the section along 10°N, owing to the proximity of source regions in West Africa and Europe, and lowest in the west, for both dry and wet deposition modes. In common with other recent studies, atmospheric P and Si inputs during M55 were strongly depleted relative to the stoichiometry of phytoplankton Fe, N, P and Si requirements. Atmospheric N inputs were equivalent to 0.1–4.7% of observed primary productivity during the cruise. Atmospheric nutrient supply was also compared to observed nitrogen fixation rates during M55. While atmospheric Fe supply may have been sufficient to support N fixation (depending on the relationship between our simple Fe leaching experiment and aerosol Fe dissolution in seawater), atmospheric P supply was well below the required rate. The stable nitrogen isotope composition of nitrate–N in aerosol and rain was also determined. Results of a simple model indicate that atmospheric deposition and nitrogen fixation introduce similar amounts of isotopically light nitrogen into surface waters of the study region. This implies that nitrogen isotope-based methods would overestimate nitrogen fixation here by a factor of 2, if atmospheric inputs were not taken into account.     

Seasonal changes of concentrations of inorganic and organic nitrogen in coastal marine sediments

The seasonal fluctuations of the concentration of nitrogenous compounds in sediments was investigated for three regions of the Seto Inland Sea in Japan; the variation of nitrogenous compounds in sediments was also studied in a laboratory experiment.The amounts of ammonium, dissolved organic nitrogen, nitrite and nitrate, as percentages of the dissolved total nitrogen of the interstitial water, were in the ranges of 47–99%, 10–50%, 0·1–0·6% and 0·3–4·1%, respectively. Ammonium was the major component and organic nitrogen was the next most important. The concentrations of these nitrogenous compounds changed seasonally: dissolved total nitrogen was higher in the warm month of September than in May; ammonium increased in warm months and decreased in cold months, but nitrite and nitrate increased in cold months. It was possible to explain the seasonal fluctuation of nitrogenous compounds in terms of the rates of the metabolic pathways of nitrogen in the sediments.Ammonium was not necessarily correlated with dissolved organic nitrogen. From this, it was considered that ammonium did not occur from solubilization of particulate organic nitrogen followed by mineralization, but from direct mineralization of particulate organic nitrogen in sediments.For the sediments of Suho Nada, Hiuchi Nada and station B-47 in Beppu Bay, the ratio of dissolved ammonium to adsorbed ammonium in the sediments was in the range 10–25%, but the ratio was 60–70% of adsorbed ammonium in the considerably anaerobic sediments at station B-45 in Beppu Bay. The ratio of dissolved ammonium to adsorbed ammonium increased with the increase of the concentration of sulfide in sediments. It was recognized that the anaerobic conditions of the sediments led to the dissolution of adsorbed ammonium.     

Trends in the solubility of iron,aluminium, manganese and phosphorus in aerosol collected over the Atlantic Ocean

The solubility of iron, aluminium, manganese and phosphorus has been determined in aerosol samples collected between 49°N and 52°S during three cruises conducted in the Atlantic Ocean as part of the European Union funded IRONAGES programme. Solubilities (defined at pH 4.7) determined for Fe and Al in samples of Saharan dust were significantly lower (medians 1.7% and 3.0%, respectively) than the solubilities of these metals in aerosols from other source regions (whole dataset medians 5.2% and 9.0%, respectively). Mn solubility also varied with aerosol source, but the median solubility of Mn in Saharan dust was very similar to the median for the dataset as a whole (55% and 56%, respectively). The observed solubility of aerosol P was ∼ 32%, with P solubility in Saharan aerosol perhaps as low as 10%. Laboratory studies have indicated that aerosol Fe solubility is enhanced by acid processing. No relationship could be found between Fe solubility and the concentrations of acid species (non-seasalt SO₄²⁻, NO₃⁻) nor the net acidity of the aerosol, so we are unable to confirm that this process is significant in the atmosphere. In terms of the supply of soluble Fe to oceanic ecosystems on a global scale, the observed higher solubility for Fe in non-Saharan aerosols is probably not significant because the Sahara is easily the dominant source of Fe to the Atlantic. On a smaller scale however, higher solubility for aerosol Fe may alter our understanding of Fe cycling in regions such as the remote Southern Ocean.     

New and regenerated production in the Almeria-Oran front area,eastern Alboran Sea

Uptake and regeneration of nitrogen in the Almeria-Oran frontal zone (SW Mediterranean) and adjacent (Atlantic and Mediterranean) systems were studied during the Almofront I cruise (JGOFS-France). The frontal zone was characterized by an upsloping of nitracline from about 50 m in the adjacent systems to 25–30 m within. Along with nitrate, ammonium, chlorophyll a and particulate organic nitrogen also were at higher concentrations in the frontal zone than in the adjacent waters.The nitrate uptake rates were significantly higher in the frontal zone (up to 6.4 nmol l⁻¹ h⁻¹) than in the Atlantic and Mediterranean waters (generally <1 nmol l⁻¹ h⁻¹) indicating a significant increase of new production at the front. This increase was related to the upsloping of the nitracline as shown by the significant correlation (p<0.05) between new production and depth of the nitracline. The new production in the Almeria-Oran was much lower than those recorded in other oceanic and coastal fronts. This could be related to the fact that the nitracline did not rise up to the surface and the high concentrations of nitrate were confined to deeper layers where the ambient light intensity was less. Nitrate uptake in the frontal zone was significantly higher, by 1.7–5.8 times (average 4.2), than the calculated diffusive flux of nitrate, suggesting that vertical advection may be an important source of nitrate. New production rates at the front were also significantly higher (3–9 times, average 5.8) than the PON flux to 100 m depth estimated by sediments traps (Journal of Marine Systems 5, 377–389), suggesting a strong decoupling between surface production and downward flux of POM in the frontal zone.The north–south gradient observed with different parameters indicates the presence of a transfrontal secondary circulation. This distribution also suggests that the primary production in the front is initially nitrate-based, with a diatom-herbivore food chain, whereas regenerated production, associated with an intense recycling of organic matter, later becomes progressively important in time and space.     

Sedimentary and water column processes in the Oyster Grounds: a potentially hypoxic region of the North Sea

The purpose of this research was to investigate the potential causes of low oxygen levels in the bottom water of the Oyster Grounds region of the shallow southern North Sea, an area which provides suitable conditions for low oxygen levels to develop. At the end of the summer stratified period, relevant biogeochemical processes were investigated using a combination of sedimentary and water column rate measurements. Phytoplankton nitrate and ammonium uptake was measured throughout the water column using (15)N labelled isotopes and showed ammonium uptake dominated in the upper and bottom mixed layer with a maximum 294.4 micromol N m(-3)h(-1). In the deep chlorophyll maximum at the thermocline, primary production was dominated by nitrate uptake, with an average of 35.0 micromol N m(-3)h(-1), relative to ammonium uptake, with an average of 24.6 micromol N m(-3)h(-1). This high relative nitrate uptake will in part result in exportable new production to the isolated bottom mixed layer and sediments, as opposed to regenerated ammonium driven uptake. This biomass export was indicated by significant benthic oxygen consumption rates in the stratified region (782-1275 micromol O(2)m(-2)h(-1)micromol N m(-3)h(-1)) long after the end of the spring bloom. The sediments were also an active net source of nitrate, ammonium, phosphate and silicate into the bottom mixed layer of 4.4, 8.4, 2.3 and 68.8 micromol m(-2)h(-1), respectively. The export of new production within the thermocline to the bottom mixed layer and the consequent sediment oxygen consumption in the isolated bottom mixed layer in the Oyster Grounds are expected to have contributed to the low bottom water oxygen concentrations of 2.07 mg l(-1) (64.7 micromol l(-1)) measured. The long stratified period associated with this low oxygen is predicted to occur more regularly in the future and continued monitoring of this ecologically important region is therefore essential if the causes of these potentially damaging low oxygen levels are to be fully understood.