Particulate organic matter in the coastal and estuarine waters of Goa and its relationship with phytoplankton production

In the coastal and estuarine waters of Goa, particulate organic carbon (POC) varied from 0.52 to 2.51 mg l^?1 and from 0.28 to 5.24 mg l^?1 and particulate phosphorus (PP) varied from 0.71 to 5.18 μg l^?1 and from 0.78 to 20.34 μg l^?1, respectively. The mean values of chlorophyll and primary productivity were 1.94 mg m^?3 and 938.1 mg C m^?2 day^?1 in the coastal waters and 4.3 mg m^?3 and 636.5 mg C m^?1 day^?1 in the estuarine waters, respectively.$\text{POC}\text{chl}$ ratios were low in June and October even when POC values were quite high. The POC in surface waters was linearly correlated with the chlorophyll content. Also PP increased when chlorophyll and primary productivity remained high. The results suggest that the phytoplankton was sharply increasing and contributed to POC and PP content. The percentage of detritus calculated from the intercept values of chlorophyll on POC varied from 46 to 76% depending on season. Results indicate that the major portion of POC and PP during postmonsoon (October–January) is derived from phytoplankton production while the allochthonous matter predominate during monsoon (June–September).     

Variability of the distribution of the transparency and suspended matter: Concentration in the surface layer of the northwestern part of the Black Sea in the summer period

Particular features of the distribution of the transparency and particulate matter content, their variability, and their interdependence in the surface water layer (0–5 m) over the northwestern shelf and in the adjacent abyssal part of the Black Sea in the summer were considered on the basis of long-term simultaneous optical, biological, and hydrological observations (1979–1993). In the shelf regions with different river discharges and in the waters of the open part of the sea, the distributions of the transparency, the total particulate matter, and its organic components (organic carbon, nitrogen, and chlorophyll a), as well as the relative content of particulate organic carbon in the total amount of the particulate matter and the content of chlorophyll a in the particulate organic carbon, were considered. The distributions of the transparency and particulate matter and their dependence on the water dynamics are in good agreement. It was demonstrated that extreme anthropogenic eutrophication influences the western and northern coastal shelf areas. The water transparency and particulate organic matter distributions in the central shelf area subjected to the influence of transformed river water and the water properties of the southern part of the shelf, which is influenced by the waters of the open sea, were determined according to the particular structure of the phytoplankton, its abundance, and the processes of its production and destruction.     

Enhanced extracellular enzymatic peptide hydrolysis in the sea-surface microlayer

The accumulation of dissolved organic matter (DOM) at the air–sea interface is controlled by dynamic physical processes at the boundary between ocean and atmosphere. Much of the DOM concentrated in the surface microlayer is thought to be protein or glycoprotein. Enzymatic hydrolysis of these and other biopolymers is an important step in the microbial uptake of dissolved and particulate organic matter in many aquatic environments. We employed a sensitive fluorescence technique to investigate differences between extracellular enzymatic peptide hydrolysis in the sea surface microlayer and corresponding subsurface water from Stony Brook Harbor, NY. We separated the microlayer from its underlying water and thus measured hydrolysis potential rather than an in-situ process. Peptide turnover was always faster in the microlayer than in subsurface waters. This was confirmed by allowing a new surface film to form on subsurface water; hydrolysis was still faster in the new surface film. In a year-long study, we found the relative difference between turnover times in the surface film and subsurface waters to vary greatly with season. While rate constants of peptide hydrolysis were generally higher in both microlayer and bulk water samples in spring/summer than in fall/winter, the difference in activity between the two environments was greatest in winter. Enhanced hydrolysis in the sea surface microlayer is likely due to the greater concentrations of DOM in the microlayer. Seasonal changes in distribution of hydrolytic activity between surface film and subsurface water probably reflect seasonal variation in the mechanisms of DOM enrichment, which depend on water temperature, substance and energy fluxes across the water–air boundary, activity of aquatic organisms and other seasonal variables.     

Organic matter of the North Atlantic

The areas that we studied in the North Atlantic (53 and 60°N) and in the Labrador Sea in the summer were characterized by a wide variability of the concentrations of dissolved and particulate organic matter and its elemental composition both in the surface and in the deep waters. The concentrations of dissolved and particulate C_org varied within 69–360 μM and 0.7–25.6 μM, respectively; the N_org and P_org contents varied within 1.4–22.2 μM and 0.02–0.86 μM, respectively. The maximal concentrations were registered in the photic layer and in the zones of mixing between the waters of different genesis. The particulate matter contribution to the total organic matter (OM) content varied from 0.5 to 15.4%. The waters of the photic layer contained more particulate C_org than those of the near-bottom layer. The values of the C/N molar ratios from the surface to the bottom over the entire aquatic area surveyed varied 5-to 6-fold; at that, the values of the C/P molar ratios varied more than tenfold. In the most productive waters, the values of the C/N ratios were close to the Redfield ratios (6–10). The values of the C/P molar ratios varied from 160 in the photic layer to 4831 in the deep waters. The pronounced non-uniformity in the spatial distribution of the OM and its elemental composition is caused not only by the penetration of the waters of different origins but also by the changes in the microplankton metabolism under mixing of these waters.     

The carbonate system of the amur estuary and the adjacent marine aquatic areas

In July 2007, integrated studies of the Amur Estuary and the adjacent aquatic areas were performed on board R/V Professor Gagarinskii within the project of the Amur River basin exploration. On the basis of the data obtained during the cruise, the carbonate system of the Amur Estuary in the summer period was considered. It was shown that the distribution of the carbonate parameters in the Amur Estuary and the adjacent aquatic areas points to the high intensity of the bio-geochemical processes of production and mineralization of organic matter. It was found that the organic matter destruction is prevailing over the photosynthesis in the riverine part of the estuary. This aquatic area is a source of carbon dioxide for the atmosphere and rates as a heterotrophic basin. On the contrary, the surface waters at the outer boundaries of the estuary (the Gulf of Sakhalin and the Tatar Strait) act as a sink of the atmospheric carbon dioxide, which is caused by the intense photosynthesis in this area. This part of the estuary is treated as an autotrophic basin.     

Features of winter sedimentation processes in Curonian Bay of the Baltic Sea

The concentration distribution was studied for dissolved oxygen, phosphorus forms, and particulate matter in Curonian Bay of the Baltic Sea in poorly known consolidated ice cover conditions during the winter seasons of 2010, 2011, and 2013. The surface and near-bottom waters were sampled at 51 stations. The ice cover exerts no significant effect on the typical seasonal variation of all considered parameters in the basin. The concentrations of mineral and organic phosphorus in the bay appeared to be lower by factors of 2–4 compared to summer values. A two- to threefold decrease in the concentrations of organic phosphorus since 2010 to 2011 and then to 2013 was recorded in the bay, which resulted from a decrease in phosphorus production by phytoplankton. Despite water being isolated from air by ice, the absence of wave mixing, and the decrease in oxygen production owing to the seasonal winter decrease in the intensity photosynthetic processes, no oxygen deficiency was found in the basin. This is because oxygen supplied to the bay by river runoff and production by photosynthesis in the bay exceed the utilization for oxidation of organic matter resulting from low bioproductivity of the waters during winter. The winter decrease in the fraction of biogenic particulate matter is seen as a four- to sevenfold drop in its total concentration in the waters compared to summer seasons. The absence of wave roiling of bottom sediments also caused a decrease in the secondary supply of biogenic particulate matter from sediments into near-bottom waters. No negative trends of geoecological conditions in the bay were revealed by the studied parameters under consolidated ice cover conditions.     

水体中有色可溶性有机物的研究进展

有色可溶性有机物(CDOM)是水体中一类重要的光吸收物质,在短波的吸收大大降低了紫外辐射在水体的衰减,因而其光学行为和生物地球化学循环将对水体生态系统产生重要影响。CDOM在水体生态系统、水色遥感和全球碳循环研究中具有广阔的应用前景。文章综述了国内外CDOM研究现状与动态,其中包括CDOM的光吸收特性、荧光特性、光化学降解以及CDOM和DOC浓度的水色遥感,最后提出在内陆水体湖泊中开展CDOM研究的设想。     

九龙江河口水体叶绿素a含量和初级生产力的时空变化

根据2009年春（5月）、夏（8月）、秋（11月）在九龙江河口水域进行的生态安全示范区综合外业调查资料,研究了九龙江河口水体叶绿素a含量和初级生产力的时空变化．结果表明,九龙江河口水体叶绿素a含量变化范围为0．77～15．89mg／m。,平均含量为3．11mg／m。;初级生产力变化范围为19．05～332．91mr,／（m。·d）,平均值为103．51mg／（m。·d）．叶绿素a含量均值以夏季的为最高（4．01mg／m。）,其季节变化呈夏季〉春季〉秋季;初级生产力均值以春季的为最高[112．16mg／（m。·d）],季节变化呈春季〉夏季〉秋季的趋势．与本研究区上世纪90年代的调查结果比较,本次调查的表层水叶绿素a含量均值（3．11mg／m’）为1990年均值（2．24mg／m。）的1．3—1．6倍,而初级生产力均值[103．5mg／（m。·d）]则比1990年的[151．6mg／（m。·d）]降低了约32％．叶绿素a含量与初级生产力、可溶性硅酸盐含量、水温在这3个季节均显著正相关,与浮游植物密度的分布并不一致,二者的相关性并不显著．在高无机氮和高可溶性硅酸盐含量状态下,水温与活性磷酸盐含量对九龙江河口水体叶绿素a含量和初级生产力的时空变化起调控作用．     

Organic matter characterization and fate in the sub-arctic Norwegian fjords during the late spring/summer period

The organic matter (OM) pool has been studied in two sub-arctic north Norwegian fjords, Balsfjord and Ullsfjord, in July 2001 and June 2003. Besides general OM parameters such as dissolved organic carbon (DOC), particulate organic carbon and nitrogen (POC and PON), the distribution of specific compounds such as folic acid and surface active substances (SAS) was followed. The results are supported with data of salinity, temperature, and chlorophyll a (Chl a). This approach allowed assessment of the fate of the OM pool, and its distinct vertical, spatial, and seasonal variations. Fjord waters could be vertically divided into two layers: the upper mixed layer (UML), until 40 m depth, and the deep aphotic layer. Spatial variability between the two fjords is a consequence of different influences of shelf waters on the fjords. Significant enrichment of POC and PON concentrations (3–5 times), as well as those of particulate SAS and folic acid (up to 3.2 times) in the UML was recorded during the period of new production, in early June. Depletion of particulate OM in deep waters was ascribed to fast dissolution or remineralization in the UML or upper part of aphotic layer. OM in July 2001 was characterized with 15.9% higher DOC pool compared to June 2003, and had refractory properties, suggesting the fjords to be an important source of organic matter for the continental shelf ecosystem. The DOC pool in these subarctic fjords represents the major component of the OM pool. The DOC concentrations in fjords are lower than those in previously studied warmer seas (e.g. the Adriatic Sea), whereas the concentrations of folic acid and SAS are comparable to those in the Adriatic Sea.     

Sediment organic matter composition and dynamics in San Francisco Bay, California, USA: Seasonal variation and interactions between water column chlorophyll and the benthos

Sediment and water column data from four sites in North, Central and South San Francisco Bays were collected monthly from November 1999 through November 2001 to investigate the seasonal variation of benthic organic matter and chlorophyll in channel sediments, the composition and quality of sediment organic matter (SOM), and the relationship between seasonal patterns in benthic organic matter and patterns in water column chlorophyll. Water column chlorophyll peaked in the spring of 2000 and 2001, characteristic of other studies of San Francisco Bay phytoplankton dynamics, however an unusual chlorophyll peak occurred in fall 2000. Cross-correlation analysis revealed that water column chlorophyll at these four channel sites lead sediment parameters by an average of 2 to 3 months. Sediment organic matter levels in the San Francisco Bay channel showed seasonal cycles that followed patterns of water column production: peaks in water column chlorophyll were followed by later peaks in sediment chlorophyll and organic matter. Cyclical, seasonal variations also occurred in sediment organic matter parameters with sediment total organic carbon (TOC) and total nitrogen (TN) being highest in spring and lowest in winter, and sediment amino acids being highest in spring and summer and lowest in winter. Sediment chlorophyll, total organic carbon, and nitrogen were generally positively correlated with each other. Sediment organic matter levels were lowest in North Bay, intermediate in Central Bay, and highest in South Bay. C:N ratio and the ratio of enzyme hydrolyzable amino acids to TOC (EHAA:TOC) data suggest that SOM quality is more labile in Central and northern South Bay, and more refractory in North Bay and southern South Bay.     

Trace element and molecular markers of organic carbon dynamics along a shelf–basin continuum in sediments of the western Arctic Ocean

Molecular organic biomarkers together with trace element composition were investigated in sediments east of Barrow Canyon in the western Arctic Ocean to determine sources and recycling of organic carbon in a continuum from the shelf to the basin. Algal biomarkers (polyunsaturated and short-chain saturated fatty acids, 24-methylcholesta-5,24(28)-dien-3β-ol, dinosterol) highlight the substantial contribution of organic matter from water column and sea-ice primary productivity in shelf environments, while redox markers such as acid volatile sulfide (AVS), Mn, and Re indicate intense metabolism of this material leading to sediment anoxia. Shelf sediments also receive considerable inputs from terrestrial organic carbon, with biomarker composition suggesting the presence of multiple pools of terrestrial organic matter segregated by age/lability or hydrodynamic sorting. Sedimentary metabolism was not as intense in slope sediments as on the shelf; however, sufficient labile organic matter is present to create suboxic and anoxic conditions, at least intermittently, as organic matter is focused towards the slope. Basin sediments also showed evidence for episodic delivery of labile organic carbon inputs despite the strong physical controls of water depth and sea-ice cover. Principal components analysis of the lipid biomarker data was used to estimate fractions of preserved recalcitrant (of terrestrial origin) and labile (of marine origin) organic matter in the sediments, with ranges of 12–79%, 14–45%, and 37–66% found for the shelf, slope, and basin cores, respectively. On average, the relative preserved terrestrial organic matter in basin sediments was 56%, suggesting exchange of organic carbon between nearshore and basin environments in the western Arctic.     

The reflection of the present distribution of the primary production in the bottom sediments of the Sea of Okhotsk

Using the authors’ data obtained during expeditions to the Sea of Okhotsk during the last decade, the primary phytoplankton production and the distribution of organic carbon and chlorophyll a degradation products (chlorin) in the bottom sediments were studied. Using the authors’ and published data, the spatial distribution of the production and paleoproduction indicators was plotted. The ratios of the chlorin and C_org content in the sediments was considered, and the correlation between these parameters was revealed. It was shown that the average annual primary production of phytoplankton and the paleoproduction indices were maximum in the coastal and upwelling zones and decreased towards the sea’s center. A quantitative correlation was found between the distribution of the present primary production in the photic layer and that of the rates of the accumulation of organic matter buried within the surface sediments. As a result, it was shown that the content of chlorin and C_org in the marine bottom sediments may be used to reconstruct the paleoproduction variability of the past.     

Primary production and deep-water oxygen content of two British Columbian fjords

Vertical profiles of ¹⁴C-uptake were acquired monthly from the mouths and landward stations of periodically anoxic Saanich Inlet and oxygenated Jervis Inlet, British Columbia, Canada from August 1985 to October 1989. Saanich Inlet (490 g C m⁻² year⁻¹) was 1.7 times more productive than Jervis Inlet (290 g C m⁻² year⁻¹) and primary production toward the mouths of both inlets was 1.4 times higher than at the landward stations. The elevated rates of primary production in Saanich Inlet may have been due to exchange with the nutrient-rich surface waters of the passages leading to the Pacific Ocean and the up-inlet gradients in both fjords also may have reflected relative nutrient supply. Sediment-trap results show enhanced fluxes of biogenic silica to the deep waters of Saanich Inlet; associated organic matter is likely to have caused a large oxygen demand. Combined with the high primary production and export flux, low rates of vertical mixing and particle-entrapment within the fjord, factors associated with weak estuarine circulation as well as weak winds and tides in Saanich Inlet, may also stimulate anoxia.Although in Jervis Inlet there is more stagnant water behind the sill and deep-water renewals appear to be less frequent than in Saanich Inlet, the deep sill allows degradation of a significant fraction of the sinking organic matter before the stagnant waters are reached, reducing the chances of oxygen depletion in the bottom waters.     

Spatial variation of nutrients and primary productivity in the Rufiji Delta mangroves,Tanzania

Determinations of spatial and temporal variations in organic matter and nutrient dynamics in water and sediments are crucial for understanding changes in aquatic bodies. In this study, we (i) determine the spatial dynamics of dissolved inorganic nutrients, during the transition from the dry to the rainy season, and (ii) provide future productivity predictions for the Rufiji Delta mangroves, Tanzania, based on the input of various nutrients. Water samples were collected from six locations, three times per year between April 2012 and January 2014, and analysed for dissolved nutrients, total organic and inorganic carbon, chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b and total carotenoids. The prediction of future net primary productivity in the Rufiji mangroves was undertaken using the software STELLA. The mean nutrient concentrations were of the order: nitrate > phosphate > ammonium > silica > dissolved organic carbon. The study revealed that high nutrient concentrations occurred in the northern part of the Rufiji Delta as a result of anthropogenic influence in the watershed. Modelling of nutrient inputs into the delta indicated enhanced primary productivity, which is expected to increase the vulnerability of water quality in the near future due to eutrophication.     

Origins and temporal scales of hypoxia on the Louisiana shelf: Importance of benthic and sub-pycnocline water metabolism

Hypoxic-to-anoxic conditions (2–0 mg O₂ l^− 1) occur in the bottom waters of the northern Gulf of Mexico on the Louisiana shelf west of the Mississippi river delta during late spring and summer where the rate of oxygen consumption exceeds its rate of input from physical transport plus photosynthetic generation. Although consumption of oxygen in the water column primarily via oxic respiration is an important process, the loss of oxygen at and near the seafloor may also be an important sink contributing to seasonal low oxygen conditions in the relatively shallow overlying waters in this region. Associated with the flux of oxygen into the sediments is the flux of nutrients out of the sediments from the remineralization of sedimentary organic matter via a number of possible electron acceptors. The nutrients that are released from the sediment can potentially stimulate further primary production. This can lead to generation of oxygen in the water column and production of organic matter, much of which can be transported to the seafloor where it again becomes a sink for oxygen.A non-steady-state data driven numeric benthic–pelagic model was developed to investigate the role of sediment and water-column metabolism in the development of hypoxia on the Louisiana shelf. The model simulations bare out the importance of sediment oxygen demand as the primary sink for oxygen at the beginning and end of a hypoxic event on the shelf, but once hypoxia has developed, the sediments, now isolated from the oxygen-rich surface waters, are driven into a more anoxic mode, becoming more dependent on sulfate and metal reduction. As a result, the bottom water near the pycnocline becomes the major sink for oxygen.Model simulations also suggest that there is a delay of several weeks between metabolite production (especially ammonium) and its efflux from the sediments. Thus the maximum sediment ammonium export occurs in September and October in time to fuel autumnal phytoplankton production, thereby continuing a biogeochemical cycle that expands the temporal and spatial scales of hypoxia on the Louisiana shelf.     

A phytoplankton class-specific primary production model applied to the Kerguelen Islands region (Southern Ocean)

As part of the KErguelen: compared study of the Ocean and the Plateau in Surface water (KEOPS) project in late summer 2005, we examine the phytoplankton community composition and associated primary production in the waters surrounding the Kerguelen Archipelago, with the emphasis on two contrasted environments: (i) the Kerguelen Plateau, where a large bloom occurs annually, and (ii) the high-nutrient low-chlorophyll (HNLC) offshore waters. A biomarker pigment approach was used to assess the community composition in terms of chlorophyll biomass of three phytoplankton size classes, namely micro-, nano-, and picophytoplankton. The second objective was to evaluate a global class-specific approach for estimating the contribution of the three pigment-based size classes to the primary production in the study area. To do so, primary production rates associated with each phytoplankton class were computed from the class-specific chlorophyll biomass coupled to a class-specific primary production model, and compared with in situ measurements of size-fractionated ¹³C-based primary production. The iron-enriched bloom region was dominated by microphytoplankton (diatoms), which contributed 80–90% to the total primary production (of ≈1 g C m^?2 d^?1). In the HNLC area, the primary production was about 0.30 g C m^?2 d^?1, mainly (65%) achieved by small diatoms and nanoflagellates. The model results show a good overall agreement between predicted and measured total primary production rates. In terms of size classes, agreements were higher for the bloom region than for the HNLC waters. Discrepancies in this complex iron-limited area may be explained essentially by the smaller size of diatoms, or a different set of photophysiological properties.     

Coastal ecosystem dynamics: Relevance of benthic processes

It is believed that the ecological balance and productivity of marine coastal environments are directly related to nutrient supplies from various sources including riverine-estuarine-coastal exchange, upwelling, precipitation, nitrogen fixation, and nutrient regeneration. In south Texas coastal waters, where phytoplankton productivity is comparable to other high productive coastal areas, many nutrient sources are suspected, but are not equally important in supplying sufficient nutrients to drive coastal production dynamics. Nitrogen regeneration from the benthos is implicated from a 2.5-y study of the nutrient cycling processes important in contributing to production levels in these waters. Sediments of the south Texas coastal habitat appear to exhibit a sensitive coupling with overlying waters, where a strong negative correlation exists between the random periodicity of external supplies of ‘new’ nitrogen to the coastal system and the rate at which nitrogen is recycled by sediments. This pattern buffers these waters against extended periods of low input of nutrients from external sources. The development of a conceptual scheme for nutrient cycling in this coastal habitat has provided a more holistic framework from which we can derive an objective assessment of the importance of mechanisms in the system. All data collected so far suggest that the primary production of organic matter and passage through the benthic habitat of these coastal waters is an important pattern responsible for the continued maintenance of productivity in the south Texas coastal ecosystem.     

Impacts of elevated CO2 on particulate and dissolved organic matter production: microcosm experiments using iron-deficient plankton communities in open subarctic waters

Response of phytoplankton to increasing CO₂ in seawater in terms of physiology and ecology is key to predicting changes in marine ecosystems. However, responses of natural plankton communities especially in the open ocean to higher CO₂ levels have not been fully examined. We conducted CO₂ manipulation experiments in the Bering Sea and the central subarctic Pacific, known as high nutrient and low chlorophyll regions, in summer 2007 to investigate the response of organic matter production in iron-deficient plankton communities to CO₂ increases. During the 14-day incubations of surface waters with natural plankton assemblages in microcosms under multiple pCO₂ levels, the dynamics of particulate organic carbon (POC) and nitrogen (PN), and dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and phosphorus (DOP) were examined with the plankton community compositions. In the Bering site, net production of POC, PN, and DOP relative to net chlorophyll-a production decreased with increasing pCO₂. While net produced POC:PN did not show any CO₂-related variations, net produced DOC:DOP increased with increasing pCO₂. On the other hand, no apparent trends for these parameters were observed in the Pacific site. The contrasting results observed were probably due to the different plankton community compositions between the two sites, with plankton biomass dominated by large-sized diatoms in the Bering Sea versus ultra-eukaryotes in the Pacific Ocean. We conclude that the quantity and quality of the production of particulate and dissolved organic matter may be altered under future elevated CO₂ environments in some iron-deficient ecosystems, while the impacts may be negligible in some systems.     

春季长江口颗粒有机碳年际分布变化及其影响因素分析

根据2013—2016年春季(5月)长江口及其邻近海域4个航次环境综合调查数据,探讨春季长江口水体颗粒有机碳(POC)时空分布特征及其环境影响因素.结果显示:2013—2016年春季长江口POC浓度范围为0.22～16.99 mg/L,均值为1.80 mg/L,总水域POC年际间变化显著,底层浓度高于表层.从口门区、近...