Interannual-decadal variability of wintertime mixed layer depths in the North Pacific detected by an ensemble of ocean syntheses

Climate Dynamics - The interannual-decadal variability of the wintertime mixed layer depths (MLDs) over the North Pacific is investigated from an empirical orthogonal function (EOF) analysis of an...     

Incorporation rate measurements of <Superscript>10</Superscript>Be, <Superscript>230</Superscript>Th, <Superscript>231</Superscript>Pa,and <Superscript>239,240</Superscript>Pu radionuclides in manganese crust in the Pacific Ocean: A search for extraterrestrial material

In order to estimate the deposition rate of extraterrestrial material onto a manganese crust in a search for supernova debris, we analyzed the contents of ¹⁰Be, ²³⁰Th, ²³¹Pa, and ^239,240Pu in a sample of manganese crust collected from the North Pacific Ocean. On the basis of the depth profile of ¹⁰Be, the growth rate of the manganese crust was determined to be 2.3 mm Myr⁻¹. The uptake rates of ¹⁰Be, ²³⁰Th, and ²³¹Pa onto the manganese crust were estimated to be 0.22–0.44%, 0.11–0.73%, and 1.4–4.5%, respectively, as compared to the deposition rates onto the deep-sea sediments near the sampling station, while that for ^239,240Pu was 0.14% as compared to the total inventory of seawater and sediment column. Assuming that sinking particles represent 0.11–4.5% of the uptake rates, the deposition rate of extraterrestrial material onto the manganese crust was estimated to be 2–800 μg cm⁻²Myr⁻¹ according to the uptake of ¹⁰Be onto the manganese crust. Further, our estimate is similar to the value of 9–90 μg cm^{− 2}Myr⁻¹ obtained using the integrated global production rate of ¹⁰Be and the deposition rate of ¹⁰Be onto the manganese crust.     

The rate of oxidation of ferrous iron in seawater and the partition of elements between iron oxides and seawater

At the Minamichita Beach Land (Mihama-cho, Aichi, Japan), seawater is pumped up from underground and is supplied to aquaria. The underground seawater containsca. 2 ppm of Fe (II), 0.1 ppm of Mn (II) and a little dissolved oxygen. Iron oxide is formed in the seawater when aerated. The oxidation rate of Fe (II) was measured to be 1.4×10¹⁴ mol^–3 l ³ min^–1, which is comparable to the lowest values in the literature. The slow rate of Fe (II) oxidation obtained here can be attributed to the presence of organically bound iron in the seawater. The distribution coefficient of cations between seawater and iron oxide phase was in the order of Cu>Ni>Co>Cd>Mn, which is consistent with that predicted from their hydrolysis constants. The adsorption affinity sequence of oxyanions was phosphate >vanadate> molybdate. The difference in phosphate from the prediction of the adsorption theory was attributed to the formation of ferriphosphate on the oxide surface. On the basis of these data, the limitation and usefulness in the application of the distribution coefficients to marine environments were discussed.     

In-water algorithms for ADEOS/OCTS

In-water algorithms for OCTS standard products were developed using in situ data and installed for operationally processing at NASDA/EOC. This paper describes the in-water algorithms Version 1.0 for chlorophylla concentration, pigment concentration, and attenuation coefficient at a wavelength of 490 nm. The selected OCTS standard algorithms (Ver. 1.0) are as follows:      

Validation of ADEOS-II GLI ocean color products using in-situ observations

The Global Imager (GLI) aboard the Advanced Earth Observing Satellite-II (ADEOS-II) made global observations from 2 April 2003 to 24 October 2003. In cooperation with several institutes and scientists, we obtained quality controlled match-ups between GLI products and in-situ data, 116 for chlorophyll-a concentration (CHLA), 249 for normalized water-leaving radiance (nLw) at 443 nm, and 201 for aerosol optical thickness at 865 nm (Tau_865) and Angstrom exponent between 520 and 865 nm (Angstrom). We evaluated the GLI ocean color products and investigated the causes of errors using the match-ups. The median absolute percentage differences (MedPD) between GLI and in-situ data were 14.1–35.7% for nLws at 380–565 nm, 52.5–74.8% nLws at 625–680 nm, 47.6% for Tau_865, 46.2% for Angstrom, and 46.6% for CHLA, values that are comparable to the ocean-color products of other sensors. We found that some errors in GLI products are correlated with observational conditions; nLw values were underestimated when nLw at 680 nm was high, CHLA was underestimated in absorptive aerosol conditions, and Tau_865 was overestimated in sunglint regions. The error correlations indicate that we need to improve the retrievals of the optical properties of absorptive aerosols and seawater and sea surface reflection for further applications, including coastal monitoring and the combined use of products from multiple sensors.     

Analysis of ocean color spectra (III)

The spectral measurements of the attenuation coefficient of sea water and the absorption coefficient of suspended particles and of yellow substance were made with a spectrophotometer for the sea waters sampled in Tokyo Bay. These parameters can be used to compute the expected spectral irradiance reflectance. Some relationships between the optical properties of sea water and the concentration of dissolved organic carbon, the dry weight of suspended matter and chlorophyll-a concentration are presented. On the basis of these results, the possibility of modelling the relationship between optical and material properties is discussed.     

The partition of minor transition metals between manganese oxides and seawater

The behavior of transition metals (Co, Ni, Cu and Zn) on precipitation of manganese oxides from seawater pumped up from a well at the site of the Marine Science Museum, Tokai University, and collected from several tanks along the water supply system to an aquarium was investigated. The distribution coefficients of cobalt and nickel between manganese oxides and seawater were different at different sampling points along the water supply system. At sampling points with high rates of manganese oxide precipitation, the distribution coefficients were about one order of magnitude smaller than those at the points with low precipitation rates, while there were no remarkable differences in the distribution coefficients of copper and zinc among the sampling points. The distribution coefficients of minor transition metals, with the exception of copper, observed at the points with low precipitation rates were comparable to those measured experimentally using manganese dioxides.     

Bio-Optical Properties of Seawater in the Western Subarctic Gyre and Alaskan Gyre in the Subarctic North Pacific and the Southern Bering Sea during the Summer of 1997

Chlorophyll a concentrations (chla) and the absorption coefficients of total particulate matter [a _p()], phytoplankton [a _ph()], detritus [a _d()], and colored dissolved organic matter: CDOM [a _CDOM()] were measured in seawater samples collected in the subarctic North Pacific and the southern Bering Sea during the summer of 1997. We examined the specific spectral properties of absorption for each material, and compared the light fields in the Western subarctic Gyre (area WSG) with those in the Alaskan Gyre (area AG), and the southern Bering Sea (area SB). In the area WSG, the irradiance in the surface layer decreased markedly, indicating high absorption. In the area AG, the radiant energy penetrated deeply, and the chl a and absorption values were low throughout the water column. In the area SB, light absorption was high in the surface layer on the shelf edge and decreased with increasing depth; on the other hand, light absorption was low in the surface layer in the shelf area and increased with increasing depth.     

Iron regeneration and organic iron(III)-binding ligand production during in situ zooplankton grazing experiment

To elucidate iron regeneration and organic iron(III)-binding ligand formation during microzooplankton and copepod grazing on phytoplankton, incubation experiments were conducted in the western subarctic Pacific. During 8 days of dark incubation of ambient water and that amended with plankton concentrate, dissolved iron and organic iron(III)-binding ligands accumulated, approximately proportionally to the decrease in chlorophyll a. The observed increases in dissolved iron concentration were much greater than those expected from the consumption of phytoplankton biomass and previously reported Fe:C value of cultured algal cells, suggesting resolution from colloidal or particulate iron adsorbed onto the algal cell surface. When copepods were added to the ambient water, organic iron(III)-binding ligands accumulated more rapidly than in the control receiving no copepod addition, although consumed phytoplankton biomass was comparable between the two treatments. Bioassay experiment using filtrates collected from the incubation experiment showed that organic ligands formed during microzooplankton grazing reduced the iron bioavailability to phytoplankton and suppressed their growth. Moreover, picoplankton Synechococcus sp. and Micromonas pusilla were more suppressed by the organic ligands than the diatom Thalassiosira weissflogii. In conclusion, through microzooplankton and copepod grazing on phytoplankton, organic iron(III)-binding ligands as well as regenerated iron are released into the ambient seawater. Because the ligands lower iron bioavailability to phytoplankton through complexation and the degree of availability reduction varies among phytoplankton species, grazing by zooplankton can shift phytoplankton community structure in iron-limited waters.