Distribution of cyanobacteria and other picophytoplankton in the western North Pacific Ocean,Summer 1989

Cell densities of phycoerythrin-fluorescing cyanobacteria and other chlorophyll-fluorescing picophytoplankton in the 0.2–2.0 µm size fraction were investigated, using an epifluorescence microscope, in the western North Pacific Ocean (36.5–44.0 °N, 155.0°E) in the summer of 1989. Cyanobacteria were most abundant in the surface of the subtropical water (36.5–38.0°N) and less in the northern sea area (39.5–44.0°N). The cell density of other picophytoplankton was, however, high in the northern part and low in the subtropical water. Results showed that algae other than cyanobacteria may significantly contribute to the picophytoplankton community under the low water temperature conditions of open waters. Chlorophylla concentration represented well the abundance of picophytoplankton other than cyanobacteria, but had no significant correlation with the cyanobacteria cell density. Chlorophylla-based data must be interpreted with caution, since the abundances of cyanobacteria were often considerably different even though the chlorophylla concentrations were the same level.     

Anthropogenic CO2 distribution in the North Pacific Ocean

The depth of penetration of anthropogenic CO₂ in the North Pacific Ocean based on carbonate data in the literature is discussed. The results indicate that the deepest penetration (over 2000 m) is found in the northwest North Pacific. The shallowest penetration (to less than 400 m) is found in the eastern equatorial Pacific. Depth of penetration of anthropogenic CO₂ appears to have been controlled by such factors as deep water formation in the Northwest Pacific; upwelling in the equatorial Pacific and; vertical mixing in the western boundary areas. These results compare well with results implied from tritium, C-14, and freons distributions. The total inventory of excess carbon in the North Pacific was 14.7±4×10¹⁵ g around 1980.     

Distribution of particulate organic carbon and nitrogen in the Bering Sea and northern North Pacific Ocean

Particulate matter was collected in the Bering Sea and the northern North Pacific Ocean during the cruise of R. V. Hakuho-maru, Ocean Research Institute of Tokyo University in summer of 1975. The particulate matter was analyzed for organic carbon and nitrogen, chlorophylla and amino acids.The concentrations of particulate organic carbon and nitrogen were measured with the range of 16–422gC l^–1 and 1–85gN l^–1, 19–186gC l^–1 and 1–26gN l^–1, 46–1,038gC l^–1 and 6–79gN l^–1 and 19–246gC l^–1 and 2–25gN l^–1 in the Oyashio, the Deep Bering Sea, the continental shelf of Bering Sea and the northern North Pacific, respectively. Particulate organic carbon and nitrogen decreased with depth throughout the areas. The average concentrations of organic carbon and nitrogen in the entire water column tended to decrease in the following order; the continental shelf > Oyashio > northern North Pacific > Deep Bering Sea.C/N of particulate matter varied in the range of 3–15 (7 on average) in surface waters throughout the areas and these values tended to increase with depth to 5–20 (11 on average) in deep waters without significant regional variability.Linear regressions between chlorophylla and particulate organic carbon in the euphotic layers indicate that detrital organic carbon accounted for 34.2, 44.9, 49.1 and 25.2 % of particulate organic carbon in the Oyashio, the Deep Bering Sea, the continental shelf and the northern North Pacific, respectively.Particulate amino acid was determined in the range of 10.3–78.0g l^–1, 104–156g l^–1 and 10.4–96.4g l^–1 in the Deep Bering Sea, the continental shelf and the northern North Pacific, respectively. Aspartic acid, glutamic acid, serine, glycine and alanine were found as dominant species of amino acid of particulate matter.     

Distribution of nitrogen-fixing bacteria in the Central Pacific Ocean

The plate culture method using the two formulae for non-nitrogenous media was adopted in this investigation for the purpose of counting and isolating nitrogen-fixing bacteria distributed in the open sea. Sea water samples were collected at eighteen different stations in the region of Lat. 50°N–15°S along Long. 155°W and two other stations in the Pacific Ocean. In order to compare with those samples from the open sea, water samples were also obtained at four stations in Suruga and Sagami Bays. Nitrogen-fixing bacteria appear to be widely but very unevenly distributed at all depths in sea water, in numbers approximately ranging from nil to 10⁴ per 100 ml of sea water, and denser vertical populations have been found in the area of Lat. 40°N and 5°N along Long. 155°W, even at depths from 2,000 to 3,000m. A conparatively denser population of bacteria was found in sea water from Suruga Bay and Sagami Bay. The bacteria associated with plankton were abundantly demonstrated, in numbers ranging from 10⁶ to 10⁸ per 1 ml settling volume of plankton, in many plankton samples collected at four stations in the southern parts of the Pacific Ocean. Almost all the bacteria isolated from the samples of blue green algal colonies,Trichodesmium, sp., were able to grow on nonnitrogeneous media.     

Decadal-Scale Climate and Ecosystem Interactions in the North Pacific Ocean

Decadal-scale climate variations in the Pacific Ocean wield a strong influence on the oceanic ecosystem. Two dominant patterns of large-scale SST variability and one dominant pattern of large-scale thermocline variability can be explained as a forced oceanic response to large-scale changes in the Aleutian Low. The physical mechanisms that generate this decadal variability are still unclear, but stochastic atmospheric forcing of the ocean combined with atmospheric teleconnections from the tropics to the midlatitudes and some weak ocean-atmosphere feedbacks processes are the most plausible explanation. These observed physical variations organize the oceanic ecosystem response through large-scale basin-wide forcings that exert distinct local influences through many different processes. The regional ecosystem impacts of these local processes are discussed for the Tropical Pacific, the Central North Pacific, the Kuroshio-Oyashio Extension, the Bering Sea, the Gulf of Alaska, and the California Current System regions in the context of the observed decadal climate variability. The physical ocean-atmosphere system and the oceanic ecosystem interact through many different processes. These include physical forcing of the ecosystem by changes in solar fluxes, ocean temperature, horizontal current advection, vertical mixing and upwelling, freshwater fluxes, and sea ice. These also include oceanic ecosystem forcing of the climate by attenuation of solar energy by phytoplankton absorption and atmospheric aerosol production by phytoplankton DMS fluxes. A more complete understanding of the complicated feedback processes controlling decadal variability, ocean ecosystems, and biogeochemical cycling requires a concerted and organized long-term observational and modeling effort. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

New computation of the wind stress over the North Pacific Ocean

The wind-stress field in the North Pacific Ocean during 1961–75 is computed from nearly five million ship reports. With a drag coefficient having a linear relation to wind speed, annual mean and monthly mean wind-stress fields are obtained, and their features are described.Compared with the stress fields obtained byHellerman (1967) andWyrtki andMeyers (1976), the eastward component of the stress in the present study is larger in magnitude and the northward one smaller in magnitude, especially in the trade wind region. Differences in the drag coefficient do not have a pronounced effect on the estimated stress field. Long-period inter-annual variations in the wind field are the most likely cause of the discrepancies between the present study and those of the above authors.The maximum of the wind-stress curl, estimated from the annual mean wind-stress fields, is as large as 1.0×10^–8dyn cm^–3 around 30°N, and is larger than that estimated byEvenson andVeronis (1975). The discrepancy is considered to be mainly due to differences in the computed stress field itself rather than due to differences in the grid size used in the stress computations.The Sverdrup transports integrated from the eastern boundary on the basis of the present stress field have a maximum greater than 40×10^–12cm³ s^–1 (Sv.) near the western boundary around 30°N. This value is closer to the observed transport of the Kuroshio than that based on Hellerman's stress field.     

Depth Distribution of the Subtropical Gyre in the North Pacific

Large-scale aspects of the North Pacific subtropical gyre have been investigated using a climatology of temperature and salinity (World Ocean Atlas 1998). In the central and eastern parts of the basin, the axis of the subtropical gyre, defined as the meridional maximum of dynamic height, tends to move poleward from about 25°N near the surface to about 40°N in the upper intermediate layers. In the western part of the basin, the axis is seen at about 30°N, remaining almost unchanged with depth. Striking features associated with this vertical distribution include a northward shift of the bifurcation latitude of the North Equatorial Current at increasing depth and a barotropic nature of the confluence point between the Kuroshio and Oyashio at their respective western boundaries. The former occurs at about 14°N near the surface and extends north of 20°N at depths around 800 m. The latter, situated at about 36.4°N off Japan, does not appear to have a strong signature of depth-dependence. While some of these results are already known from sporadic hydrographic observations, they have not hitherto been represented in a three-dimensional climatology. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

太平洋波高熵的分布变化规律研究

使用1992年IO月到1998年12月连续共75个月、230个重复周期的Topex／Poseidon卫星高度计有效波高资料，对南、北太平洋波高熵的空间分布特征和时间变化规律进行了研究。统计分析了太平洋波高熵的多年的空间分布特征和多年各月的时间变化规律。结果表明，太平洋波高熵呈现出中间低、南北高的马鞍形空间分布特征和明显季节变化的规律，与太平洋的平均有效波高和气候分布特征和变化规律相一致。给出了南北太平洋模拟波高熵的计算公式及计算稳定性检验。     

Nitrogen isotope patterns in the oxygen-deficient waters of the Eastern Tropical North Pacific Ocean

We analyzed the stable nitrogen isotope composition of an extensive set of samples of particulate matter (PM) and seawater nitrate collected during October/November 1997 along the Mexican coastline from 24° to 11.5°N. At the northern and southern end of our study area, the δ¹⁵N of PM ranged between 5 and 7‰ in the upper 200 m of the water column with higher values at intermediate depths. These data are very similar to those reported from other parts of the open ocean. In the oxygen minimum zone (OMZ), we found significantly higher δ¹⁵N values for suspended particles. Furthermore, the δ¹⁵N of nitrate (NO₃) was elevated within the OMZ and we found a strong relationship between the oxygen concentration, nitrate deficit and the ¹⁵N content of the nitrate. The core of the OMZ between 22°N, 105°W and 15°N, 110°W coincided with higher nitrate deficits and δ¹⁵N values relative to the stations near the boundaries. The δ¹⁵N of nitrate was highest, with values up to 18.7‰, where oxygen concentrations were below 1–2 μmol/l. This pattern is consistent with an overall nitrogen isotopic enrichment factor of 22.5‰ for denitrification in the core of the OMZ using the Rayleigh equation (closed-system approach). Results from a diffusion model (open-system approach), however, gave a fractionation factor of 30±7.5‰, implying that the Rayleigh formula only gives a lower estimate of the fractionation factor ε. The vertical flux of particles collected in short-term deployments (ca. 35 h) of a drifting sediment trap was not significantly correlated with the water column nitrate deficit. The isotopic signature of the nitrate within the gradient is very similar to the δ¹⁵N value of sedimenting particles, suggesting that there might be a strong link between the production and sedimentation of particles. Upward flux of nitrate across the thermocline can account for less than half of the particle flux leaving the mixed layer. Mixing and transport of nitrate across the lower boundary of the OMZ can lead to significant enrichment in the ¹⁵N content of deep waters, and our isotopic data imply that at least 14% of the nitrate in the waters below the OMZ originates from this source.     

Benthic community responses to pulses in pelagic food supply: North Pacific Subtropical Gyre

Time-series measurements of particulate organic carbon (POC) and particulate nitrogen (PN) fluxes, sediment community composition, and sediment community oxygen consumption (SCOC) were made at the Hawaii Ocean Time-series station (Sta. ALOHA, 4730 m depth) between December 1997 and January 1999. POC and PN fluxes, estimated from sediment trap collections made at 4000 m depth (730 m above bottom), peaked in late August and early September 1998. SCOC was measured in situ using a free vehicle grab respirometer that also recovered sediments for chemical and biological analyses on six cruises during the 1-year study. Surface sediment organic carbon, total nitrogen and phaeopigments significantly increased in September, corresponding to the pulses in particulate matter fluxes. Bacterial abundance in the surface sediment was highest in September with a subsurface high in November. Sediment macrofauna were numerically dominated by agglutinating Foraminifera fragments with highest density in September. Metazoan abundance, dominated by nematodes was also highest in September. SCOC significantly increased from a low in February to a high in September. POC and PN fluxes at 730 m above bottom were significantly correlated with SCOC with a lag time of ⩽14 days, linking pelagic food supply with benthic processes in the oligotrophic North Pacific gyre. The annual supply of POC into the abyss compared to the estimated annual demand by the sediment community (POC:SCOC) indicates that only 65% of the food demand is met by the supply of organic carbon.     

Mesopelagic fishes of the Bering Sea and adjacent northern North Pacific Ocean

Fourteen midwater trawl collections to depths of 450 m to 1,400 m were taken at eleven stations in the Bering Sea and adjoining regions of the northern North Pacific by the R/V Hakuho Maru during the summer of 1975. A total of 29 kinds of fishes were identified. Mesopelagic fishes of the families Myctophidae, Gonostomatidae and Bathylagidae predominated in the catches, contributing 14 species (94%) of the fishes caught.Seventeen species of fishes were caught in the Bering Sea, and all of these are known from nearby areas. The mesopelagic fish fauna of the Bering Sea is similar to that in adjoining regions of the northern North Pacific Ocean: endemic species are rare or absent. Stenobrachius nannochir was usually the most common mesopelagic fish in our catches.Stenobrachius leucopsarus is a diel vertical migrant that is usually the dominant mesopelagic fish in modified Subarctic waters of the northeastern Pacific. The change in dominance fromS. nannochir in the western Bering Sea toS. leucopsarus in the eastern Bering Sea is related to differences in oceanographic conditions.     

North Pacific Synthesis of the Joint Global Ocean Flux Study: Overview

This special issue is comprised of 13 papers, including this overview, and focuses on the synthesis of the Joint Global Ocean Flux Study (JGOFS) in the North Pacific which took place from 1997 through 2003. The effort was led by the JGOFS North Pacific Synthesis Group, with the aim of quantifying CO₂ drawdown by physical and biological pumps in the North Pacific by identifying and studying the regional, seasonal to inter-annual variations in the key processes, and understanding their regulating mechanisms. Emphasis was placed on the similarities and differences of the biogeochemical regimes in the eastern and western subarctic Pacific. Effort was also made to address the future research directions which arose from the scientific findings during the North Pacific JGOFS process study. A brief overview of the papers from view points of CO₂ drawdown by physical and biological pumps, spatial variability, and temporal variability from seasonal to decadal scales is made, followed by suggestions for the directions of future research. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

太平洋北赤道流表层流速及分叉点位置

确定太平洋北赤道流表层流速及分叉点位置的变化是海洋环境研究中的1个重要问题。使用1987～1998年的WOCE浮标资料,通过估算得到了季节平均和年平均意义下北赤道流表层流速(1989～1998)。计算结果显示:北赤道流表层流的流速冬季最大,夏季最小,春秋两季相仿。在厄尔尼诺发生年的第2年,夏季平均流速往往较大。对浮标轨迹的逐年分析表明表层北赤道流分叉点的位置在11°N～14 .7°N之间,从轨迹较为密集的4年的分析可以看出,表层流分叉点的位置具有年际变化,其中,2个ElNino年分叉点偏北。     

Organochlorine contamination in some odontoceti species from the North Pacific and Indian Ocean

Concentrations of persistent organochlorines were determined in the blubber and melon of 11 species of adult male odontocetis collected from the North Pacific, Indian Ocean and nearby seas. Mean concentrations of DDs (33 μg/g wet wt) were the highest followed by PCBs (32 μg/g wet wt), chlordane compounds (CHLs: 3.7 μg/g wet wt), HCHs (1.1 μg/g wet wt), and HCB (0.32 μg/g wet wt). Odontoceti species inhabiting temperate waters revealed maximum residual concentrations of these contaminants, and the elevated DDT and PCB residues detected seem to suggest that some of the present species might potentially be at high risk. Relatively high DDT concentrations were found in tropical water species, which could be attributed to the current usage of DDT in the tropics and the less movable nature of this compound via long-range atmospheric transport. The HCH levels in animals inhabiting cold and temperate waters were higher than those inhabiting tropical waters, a result that was perhaps reflective of atmospheric transport from the tropical source to the northern sinks. A similar pattern was also observed in PCBs, CHLs and HCB, probably indicating the ongoing discharge of these compounds from mid-latitudes as well as those originating in tropical regions.     

北太平洋西边界流研究综述

综述了近20年来国内外学者在研究北太平洋西边界流的平均结构及NEC分叉动力机制、NM K流系平均输运的分配及变化、NM K流系季节及年际变化规律及其与EN SO之间的关系、NM K流系在热带和亚热带水交换中的作用以及水团的平均分布特征等方面所取得的主要成果。通过分析,发现东亚季风、R ossby波和K e lv in波等是影响北太平洋西边界流的主要因素;而缺乏长期直接的海流观测资料是深入研究北太平洋西边界流遇到的最大障碍。     

北太平洋大洋钻探研究进展

北太平洋作为全球大洋环流的重要组成部分,在高低纬间热量和物质的传输与再分配方面起到重要的调控作用,进而影响到地球气候系统。基于过去50多年来的大洋钻探工作,前人在北太平洋地球科学的研究上取得了一系列的成果。本文回顾了北太平洋古海洋和古气候方面的研究进展,包括：（1）东亚夏季风和西部边界流演化,以及其对高低纬热量、水汽的传输;（2） 北太平洋中层水和深层水的性质变化、分布范围和驱动机制,以及冰期旋回中水体垂直交换作用的气候响应;（3） 风尘输入对亚洲内陆古环境的反映,及其对北太平洋生产力的铁肥效应。尽管前人针对上述科学问题都开展了相应的研究工作,但目前在对北太平洋上述几方面的认识上仍然存在着分歧。基于对前人研究的总结概括,本文最后提出了未来北太平洋研究的关键科学问题,强调了多圈层、多系统角度对深入认识过去地球气候系统变化的重要性,并对未来大洋航次开展的理想靶区进行了展望。     

Vertical flux of hydrocarbons as measured in sediment traps in the eastern North Pacific Ocean

Sediment trap experiments were conducted at three stations (Stn. 5 at 4750 m depth, 7 at 4330 m depth and 11 at 3880 m depth) in the California Current and its adjacent areas in the eastern North Pacific from December 1982 to January 1983 to collect sinking particles, which were analyzed for organic carbon and hydrocarbons.The vertical fluxes of organic carbon, total nitrogen and lipid carbon at any depth decreased in the following order: Stn. 5 > Stn. 11 > Stn. 7, the same trend as the standing stocks of chl. a at these station, which suggests that regional variation of organic matter flux is considerably influenced by the primary productivity in the surface water layer.Hydrocarbons of the sinking particles consisted of n-C₁₅–C₂₀ with a maximum of n-C₁₇, n-C₂₁–C₃₂, n-C_21:6 and three branched C₂₅ alkenes (br-C_25:3, br-C_25:3, and br-C_25:4), but any odd or even carbon number predominance in n-C₂₁–C₃₂ was not observed. n-C_21:6 and n-C₁₇ were the most abundant throughout the depths at Stn. 5, while only n-C₁₇ was a major component of the sinking particles from the intermediate layers, but not from the deep layers, at Stns. 7 and 11. Thus, there were clear regional and vertical variabilities of hydrocarbon composition in the sinking particles.The vertical flux of various hydrocarbons at the three stations tended to decrease exponentially with depth. The attenuation constants of the hydrocarbon fluxes were calculated by analysis of the relationship between the fluxes and depths. Half-depth of the flux calculated from the attenuation constant showed extensive variability for the hydrocarbon species and the location of the station. The values of the half-depths of n-C₁₇, Σn-C_15–20, n-C_21:6 and pristane were lower than those of Σn-C_21–32 and Σbr-C₂₅, indicating that hydrocarbons derived from phytoplankton are more susceptible to biological degradation than those from zooplankton.The half-depths of the hydrocarbon fluxes tended to increase as follows: Stn. 7 < Stn. 11 < Stn. 5. This trend was the same as the size of the sinking particles collected at these stations, which suggests that the sinking rate of the particles tends to increase in the order of Stns. 7, 11 and 5. Thus, these data indicate that the sinking rate of the particles is a primary factor in determining the hydrocarbon compositon of the particles in the intermediate and deep waters.