Enrichment of alkanes within a phytoplankton bloom during an in situ iron enrichment experiment in the western subarctic Pacific

During the Subarctic Pacific Iron Experiment for Ecosystem Dynamics Study ΙΙ (SEEDS-II), we monitored variations in the concentrations of non-methane hydrocarbons (NMHCs), CH₃Cl, N₂O, and CH₄ within a phytoplankton bloom. Stable isotopic compositions were also determined to evaluate the sources of the variations. Although there was little variation in either the concentrations or the stable isotopic compositions of alkenes, CH₃Cl, N₂O, and CH₄ during the 23-day observation period, alkane concentrations increased substantially as the phytoplankton bloomed. The column-integrated quantities of alkanes increased to 3 times pre-bloom levels for C₂H₆, 5 times for C₃H₈, and 20 times for n-C₄H₁₀. The δ¹³C values of both C₂H₆ and C₃H₈ remained almost constant while concentrations increased, whereas that of n-C₄H₁₀ increased by about 12‰. To evaluate the sources of the alkanes produced during the bloom, we compared their δ¹³C values with those of alkanes produced in axenic phytoplankton cultures in our laboratory. We concluded that during the SEEDS-ΙΙ experiment the major portions of C₂H₆ and C₃H₈ were produced during the autolysis of diatoms cells, whereas n-C₄H₁₀ was produced during autolysis of other phytoplankton cells such as cryptophytes and dinoflagellates.     

Bathymetric influences of the Emperor Seamounts upon the subarctic gyre of the North Pacific: Examining boundary current dynamics along the eastern side of the mountain ridge with an idealized numerical model

The possible influences of the Emperor Seamounts (ESs) upon the subarctic gyre of the North Pacific (NPSAG) were investigated by a series of numerical experiments. In the experiments, a two-layer ocean with a meridional mountain ridge was forced by seasonally varying wind stress. We focused on how the return ratio, the ratio of the boundary transport along the eastern side of the ridge to the interior Sverdrup transport, changes with ridge height, width and density stratification. It was found that the return ratio can be large if the ridge width is greater than the width of the viscous boundary layer. In this case, the bottom pressure torque determines the return ratio; the return ratio is almost proportional to the ridge height when the ridge height is small and some contours of planetary potential vorticity pass over the ridge. However, the return ratio is independent of the ridge height and decreases with the stratification when the ridge height is large and all the contours of planetary potential vorticity are closed. These dependences of the return ratio were understood in terms of barotropic and baroclinic components of the bottom pressure torque. Implications for the bathymetric influences of ESs on the actual NPSAG are also discussed.     

Rapid subsidence of the Kikai Seamount inferred from drowned Pleistocene coral limestone: Implication for subduction of the Amami Plateau,northern Philippine Sea

Carbonate rock cores drilled on the Kikai Seamount, northern Philippine Sea are examined for better understanding of tectonic history of the northern Philippine Sea. The Kikai Seamount, the summit of which is at 1960 m water depth, is an isolated high on the northwestern part of the Amami Plateau formed by subduction-related arc volcanism, and is situated close to the axis of the Ryukyu Trench in front of the Ryukyu Arc, SW Japan. The seamount is capped with shallow-water carbonates such as coral rudstone. Detailed examinations of lithology, larger foraminiferal assemblages, and Sr isotope composition reveal that the core material comprises Miocene carbonates unconformably overlain by Early Pleistocene carbonates. It indicates rapid subsidence of the Kikai Seamount since the Early Pleistocene. The most probable cause of rapid subsidence is collision and subduction of the Amami Plateau laden with the Kikai Seamount. The rapid subsidence may have started when the western corner of the plateau reached the Ryukyu Trench and began subduction beneath the Ryukyu Arc. The onset of the subsidence is likely to be controlled by a motion change in the Philippine Sea Plate. The latest change in subduction direction from north to northwestward into northwestward to west has been believed to have occurred at 1-2 Ma during latest Pliocene to Early Pleistocene time. The change of direction resulted in the shift from oblique into right-angle subduction of the plate beneath the Ryukyu Arc and also the onset of the collision and subduction of the Amami Plateau.     

A proof and applications of the expansion theorem for the Rossby normal modes in a closed rectangular basin

An expansion theorem is derived for Rossby normal modes in a closed rectangular basin and the set of Rossby normal modes is proved to be complete. This theorem provides a general linear solution to the initial value problem as well as to the response problem. In particular, the Green's function is obtained for the instantaneous localized torque anywhere in the basin. Weakly nonlinear versions are solved also by the combination of the general linear solution with the asymptotic expansion in terms of small amplitude. Further, an application is suggested to the spectral method of numerical simulation based on Rossby normal modes relevant to the more nonlinear evolution equation on a-plane, instead ofsin functions or Chebyshev polynomials, which have been employed conventionally for this purpose.     

Uptake of selenium and other oxyanionic elements in marine ferromanganese concretions of different origins

The concentration of selenium in marine ferromanganese concretions varies between 0.02 and 1.2 mg kg⁻¹, with an average of 0.6 mg kg⁻¹. This is about two orders of magnitude lower than previously reported. In contrast to minor cationic elements, the concentrations of selenium are relatively uniform between ferromanganese concretions of different origins, except for hydrothermal crusts. It shows the same trends of element enrichment as other oxyanionic elements. The incorporation of selenium into ferromanganese concretions is attributed to adsorption of selenate on iron and manganese oxides.     

Vertical distribution of particulate manganese and iron in the Beppu Bay

Around the thermocline, difference in the depth of the maximum concentration between particulate manganese and iron was observed above the basin located at the south-western corner of the Beppu Bay, along with the remarkable difference in pH and Eh.     

Group velocity and energy transport by Rossby waves

A variational method gives a proof that, for normal modes of Rossby waves in the ocean on a-plane with depth variable in the meridional direction, the time average of the energy flux defined as the product of the pressure and the fluid-particle velocity agrees with the time average of the energy density multiplied by the group velocity. This conclusion holds in considerably general situations and sheds light on the controversial problem of the energy transport by Rossby waves. Moreover, the variational method gives a remarkable relation between the group velocity and the phase velocity. In particular this relation shows that the absolute value of the group velocity never exceeds that of the phase velocity.     

Mass balance of heavy metals in the seto inland sea, Japan

To discuss the geochemical and environmental behavior of heavy metals in the Seto Inland Sea, the largest semi-enclosed coastal sea in Japan, mass balances of Cu and Zn were studied by application of a simple box model using sedimentation rates and heavy metal contents of core sediments. In 1980, total sedimentary loads of Cu and Zn over the whole area of the Sea were estimated to be 630 and 3500 tons year⁻¹, respectively. Further, the sedimentary loads without (natural) and with human activities were estimated separately to be, respectively, 320 and 310 tons year⁻¹ for Cu and 1800 and 1700 tons year⁻¹ for Zn. Total inputs of Cu and Zn into the Sea, in 1980 were estimated to be 870 and 4250 tons year⁻¹ about one half of this being the result of human activities. 70% of the Cu input and 80% of the Zn input are taken into the sediments. Mean residence times of Cu and Zn in the Sea are calculated to be ≈0.3 and 0.2 years, respectively. Since these values are relatively small compared to the mean residence time of the seawater (0.9 years), Cu and Zn supplied to the Sea are considered to be accumulated rapidly in the sediments.     

Cobalt content in the shallow sea sediments

Cobalt contained in the sediments from Maizuru Bay and Wakasa Bay was determined by the atomic absorption method. Cobalt content in the surface layer of the bottom sediments averaged 15.2 and 6.7g/g dry matter in Maizuru Bay and in Wakasa Bay, respectively. The vertical distribution of cobalt was almost uniform in the column of bottom sediments. Geographically, the cobalt content in sediments tended to be inverse proportion to the distance from the coast in Wakasa Bay. Considering the distribution of cobalt, it is reasonably concluded that cobalt is not a limiting factor to the production of vitamin B₁₂ by microorganisms in these regions.     

Population dynamics of phytoplankton, heterotrophic bacteria, and viruses during the spring bloom in the western subarctic Pacific

We characterized the community composition of phytoplankton in the western subarctic Pacific from the pre-bloom to the decline phase of the spring bloom with special reference to decreases in the silicic acid concentration in surface waters as an index for diatom bloom development. Furthermore, responses of heterotrophic bacteria and viruses to the spring bloom were also concomitantly investigated. Under pre-bloom conditions when nutrients were abundant but the surface mixed layer depth was relatively deep, chlorophyll (Chl) a concentrations were consistently low and green algae (chlorophytes and prasinophytes), cryptophytes, and diatoms were predominant in the phytoplankton assemblages as estimated by algal pigment signatures. Together with the shallowing of the mixed layer depth and the decrease in silicic acid concentration, diatoms bloomed remarkably in the Oyashio region, though the magnitude of the bloom in the Kuroshio-Oyashio transition (hereafter Transition) region was relatively small. A total of 77 diatom species were identified, with the bloom-forming diatoms mainly consisting of Thalassiosira, Chaetoceros, and Fragilariopsis species. It has become evident that the carotenoid fucoxanthin can serve as a strong indicator of the diatom carbon biomass during the spring diatom bloom. Differences in the species richness of diatoms among stations generally enabled us to separate the Oyashio bloom stations from the Transition and the Oyashio pre-bloom stations. Relatively high values of the Shannon-Wiener index for the diatom species were also maintained during the Oyashio bloom, indicating that a wide variety of species then shared dominance. In the decline phase of the Oyashio bloom when surface nutrient concentrations decreased, senescent diatom cells increased, as inferred from the levels of chlorophyllide a. Although the cell density of heterotrophic bacteria changed little with the development of the diatom bloom, viral abundance increased toward the end of the bloom, suggesting an increased likelihood of mortality among organisms including diatoms resulting from viral infection. This is the first report on the microbial trophodynamics, including viruses, during the spring diatom bloom in the western subarctic Pacific.