scholarly journals Seasonal distribution of dissolved inorganic carbon and net community production on the Bering Sea shelf

2010 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 251-300 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. T. Mathis ◽  
J. N. Cross ◽  
N. R. Bates ◽  
S. B. Moran ◽  
M. W. Lomas ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Primary Production ◽  
Bering Sea ◽  
Inorganic Carbon ◽  
Dissolved Inorganic Carbon ◽  
Inner Shelf ◽  
Net Community Production ◽  
Important Indicator ◽  
Bering Sea Shelf ◽  
Community Production ◽  
The Bering Sea

Abstract. The southeastern shelf of the Bering Sea is one of the ocean's most productive ecosystems and sustains more than half of the total US fish landings annually. However, the character of the Bering Sea shelf ecosystem has undergone a dramatic shift over the last several decades, causing notable increases in the dominance of temperate features coupled to the decline of arctic species and decreases in the abundance of commercially important organisms. In order to assess the current state of primary production in the southeastern Bering Sea, we measured the spatio-temporal distribution and controls on dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) concentrations in spring and summer of 2008 across six shelf domains defined by differing biogeochemical characteristics. DIC concentrations were tightly coupled to salinity in spring and ranged from ~1900 μmol kg−1 over the inner shelf to ~2400 μmol kg−1 in the deeper waters of the Bering Sea. In summer, DIC concentrations were lower due to dilution from sea ice melt and primary production. Concentrations were found to be as low ~1800 μmol kg−1 over the inner shelf. We found that DIC concentrations were drawn down 30–150 μmol kg−1 in the upper 30 m of the water column due to primary production between the spring and summer occupations. Using the seasonal drawdown of DIC, estimated rates of net community production (NCP) on the inner, middle, and outer shelf averaged 28±10 mmol C m−2 d−1. However, higher rates of NCP (40–47 mmol C m−2 d−1) were observed in the ''Green Belt'' where the greatest confluence of nutrient-rich basin water and iron-rich shelf water occurs. We estimated that in 2008, total productivity across the shelf was on the order of ~105 Tg C yr−1. Due to the paucity of consistent, comparable productivity data, it is impossible at this time to quantify whether the system is becoming more or less productive. However, as changing climate continues to modify the character of the Bering Sea, we have shown that NCP can be an important indicator of how the ecosystem is functioning.

scholarly journals Seasonal distribution of dissolved inorganic carbon and net community production on the Bering Sea shelf

2010 ◽  
Vol 7 (5) ◽  
pp. 1769-1787 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. T. Mathis ◽  
J. N. Cross ◽  
N. R. Bates ◽  
S. Bradley Moran ◽  
M. W. Lomas ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Primary Production ◽  
Bering Sea ◽  
Inorganic Carbon ◽  
Dissolved Inorganic Carbon ◽  
Inner Shelf ◽  
Net Community Production ◽  
Important Indicator ◽  
Carbonate Formation ◽  
Community Production ◽  
The Bering Sea

Abstract. In order to assess the current state of net community production (NCP) in the southeastern Bering Sea, we measured the spatio-temporal distribution and controls on dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) concentrations in spring and summer of 2008 across six shelf domains defined by differing biogeochemical characteristics. DIC concentrations were tightly coupled to salinity in spring and ranged from ~1900 μmoles kg−1 over the inner shelf to ~2400 μmoles kg−1 in the deeper waters of the Bering Sea. In summer, DIC concentrations were lower due to dilution from sea ice melt, terrestrial inputs, and primary production. Concentrations were found to be as low ~1800 μmoles kg−1 over the inner shelf. We found that DIC concentrations were drawn down 30–150 μmoles kg−1 in the upper 30 m of the water column due to primary production and calcium carbonate formation between the spring and summer occupations. Using the seasonal drawdown of DIC, estimated rates of NCP on the inner, middle, and outer shelf averaged 28 ± 9 mmoles C m−2 d−1. However, higher rates of NCP (40–47 mmoles C m−2 d−1) were observed in the "Green Belt" where the greatest confluence of nutrient-rich basin water and iron-rich shelf water occurs. We estimated that in 2008, total NCP across the shelf was on the order of ~96 Tg C yr−1. Due to the paucity of consistent, comparable productivity data, it is impossible at this time to quantify whether the system is becoming more or less productive. However, as changing climate continues to modify the character of the Bering Sea, we have shown that NCP can be an important indicator of how the ecosystem is functioning.

scholarly journals Air-sea CO<sub>2</sub> fluxes on the Bering Sea shelf

2011 ◽  
Vol 8 (5) ◽  
pp. 1237-1253 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. R. Bates ◽  
J. T. Mathis ◽  
M. A. Jeffries
Keyword(s):  
Bering Sea ◽  
Atmospheric Co2 ◽  
Net Community Production ◽  
Phytoplankton Primary Production ◽  
Co2 Partial Pressure ◽  
Small Areas ◽  
Co2 Sink ◽  
Bering Sea Shelf ◽  
Seawater Pco2 ◽  
The Bering Sea

Abstract. There have been few previous studies of surface seawater CO2 partial pressure (pCO2) variability and air-sea CO2 gas exchange rates for the Bering Sea shelf. In 2008, spring and summertime observations were collected in the Bering Sea shelf as part of the Bering Sea Ecological Study (BEST). Our results indicate that the Bering Sea shelf was close to neutral in terms of CO2 sink-source status in springtime due to relatively small air-sea CO2 gradients (i.e., ΔpCO2 and sea-ice cover. However, by summertime, very low seawater pCO2 values were observed and much of the Bering Sea shelf became strongly undersaturated with respect to atmospheric CO2 concentrations. Thus the Bering Sea shelf transitions seasonally from mostly neutral conditions to a strong oceanic sink for atmospheric CO2 particularly in the "green belt" region of the Bering Sea where there are high rates of phytoplankton primary production (PP)and net community production (NCP). Ocean biological processes dominate the seasonal drawdown of seawater pCO2 for large areas of the Bering Sea shelf, with the effect partly countered by seasonal warming. In small areas of the Bering Sea shelf south of the Pribilof Islands and in the SE Bering Sea, seasonal warming is the dominant influence on seawater pCO2, shifting localized areas of the shelf from minor/neutral CO2 sink status to neutral/minor CO2 source status, in contrast to much of the Bering Sea shelf. Overall, we compute that the Bering Sea shelf CO2 sink in 2008 was 157 ± 35 Tg C yr−1 (Tg = 1012 g C) and thus a strong sink for CO2.

scholarly journals Inorganic Radiocarbon in Time-Series Sediment Trap Samples: Implication of Seasonal Variation of 14C in the Upper Ocean

Radiocarbon ◽  
1996 ◽  
Vol 38 (3) ◽  
pp. 583-595 ◽  
Author(s):  
Makio C. Honda
Keyword(s):  
Time Series ◽  
Bering Sea ◽  
Sediment Trap ◽  
Seasonal Variability ◽  
Sea Of Okhotsk ◽  
Inorganic Carbon ◽  
Dissolved Inorganic Carbon ◽  
Sediment Traps ◽  
Upper Ocean ◽  
The Bering Sea

In order to verify sediment trap samples as indicators of upper ocean 14C concentrations, particulate inorganic radiocarbon (PICΔ14C) collected by time-series sediment traps in the Sea of Okhotsk and the Bering Sea was measured by accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS). All of the PICΔ14C measurements were < 0‰, in contrast to GEOSECS 14C data in the upper ocean from the northwestern North Pacific. This difference is attributed to the upwelling of deepwater that contains low Δ14C of dissolved inorganic carbon (DICΔ14C) and to the decrease over time of surface DICΔ14C owing to the decrease of atmospheric Δ14C values. In addition, PICΔ14C values showed significant seasonal variability: PICΔ14C collected in the fall was the greatest (-22‰ on average), whereas PICΔ14C collected in winter showed an average minimum of −48‰. It is likely that this difference was caused by changes in mixed layer thickness. Although some uncertainties remain, further study on PICΔ14C will enable us to estimate seasonal variability in DICΔ14C and air-sea CO2 exchange rate.

scholarly journals Net community production and stoichiometry of nutrient consumption in a pelagic ecosystem of a northern high latitude fjord: mesocosm CO<sub>2</sub> perturbation study

2012 ◽  
Vol 9 (8) ◽  
pp. 11705-11737 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Silyakova ◽  
R. G. J. Bellerby ◽  
J. Czerny ◽  
K. G. Schulz ◽  
G. Nondal ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Inorganic Carbon ◽  
Dissolved Inorganic Carbon ◽  
P Uptake ◽  
Nutrient Addition ◽  
Net Community Production ◽  
Cumulative Change ◽  
Nutrient Consumption ◽  
Community Production ◽  
Three Phases

Abstract. Net community production (NCP) and ratios of carbon to nutrient consumption were studied during a large-scale mesocosm experiment on ocean acidification in Kongsfjorden, West Spitsbergen, during June–July 2010. Nutrient-deplete fjord water with natural phyto- and bacteriaplankton assemblages, enclosed in nine mesocosms of ~ 50 m3 volume, was exposed to pCO2 levels ranging from 185 to 1420 μatm on initial state. Mean values of pCO2 levels during experiment ranged from 175 to 1085 μatm in different mesocosms. Phytoplankton growth was stimulated by nutrient addition. In this study NCP is estimated as a cumulative change in dissolved inorganic carbon concentrations. Stoichiometric couping between inorganic carbon and nutrient is shown as a ratio of a cumulative NCP to a cumulative change in inorganic nutrients. Three peaks of chlorophyll a concentration occurred during the experiment. Accordingly the experiment was divided in three phases. Overall cumulative NCP was similar in all mesocosms by the final day of experiment. However, NCP varied among phases, showing variable response to CO2 perturbation. Carbon to nitrogen (C : N) and carbon to phosphorus (C : P) uptake ratios were estimated only for the period after nutrient addition (post-nutrient period). For the total post-nutrient period ratios were close to Redfield proportions, however varied from it in different phases. The response of C : N and C : P uptake ratios to CO2 perturbation was different for three phases of the experiment, reflecting variable NCP and dependence on changing microbial community. Through the variable NCP, C : N and C : P uptake ratios for 31 days of the experiment we show a flexibility of biogeochemical response establishing a strong microbial loop in Kongsfjorden under different CO2 scenarios.

scholarly journals Fluxes of carbon and nutrients to the Iceland Sea surface layer and inferred primary productivity and stoichiometry

2014 ◽  
Vol 11 (11) ◽  
pp. 15399-15433
Author(s):  
E. Jeansson ◽  
R. G. J. Bellerby ◽  
I. Skjelvan ◽  
H. Frigstad ◽  
S. R. Ólafsdóttir ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Surface Layer ◽  
Inorganic Carbon ◽  
Dissolved Inorganic Carbon ◽  
Vertical Mixing ◽  
Sea Surface ◽  
Net Community Production ◽  
Horizontal Advection ◽  
Vertical Fluxes ◽  
Biological Uptake ◽  
Community Production

Abstract. Fluxes of carbon and nutrients to the upper 100 m of the Iceland Sea are evaluated. The study utilises hydro-chemical data from the Iceland Sea time-series station (68.00° N, 12.67° W), for the years between 1993 and 2006. By comparing data of dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) and nutrients in the surface layer (upper 100 m), and a sub-surface layer (100–200 m), we calculate monthly deficits in the surface, and use these to deduce the surface layer fluxes that affect the deficits: vertical mixing, horizontal advection, air–sea exchange, and biological activity. The deficits show a clear seasonality with a minimum in winter, when the mixed layer is at the deepest, and a maximum in early autumn, when biological uptake has removed much of the nutrients. The annual vertical fluxes of DIC and nitrate amounts to 1.7 ± 0.3 and 0.23 ± 0.07 mol m−2 yr−1, respectively, and the annual air–sea uptake of atmospheric CO2 is 4.4 ± 1.1 mol m−2 yr−1. The biologically driven changes in DIC during the year relates to net community production (NCP), and the net annual NCP corresponds to export production, and is here calculated to 6.1 ± 0.9 mol C m−2 yr−1. The typical, median C : N ratio during the period of net community uptake is 11, and thus clearly higher than Redfield, but is varying during the season.

scholarly journals Fluxes of carbon and nutrients to the Iceland Sea surface layer and inferred primary productivity and stoichiometry

2015 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 875-885 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. Jeansson ◽  
R. G. J. Bellerby ◽  
I. Skjelvan ◽  
H. Frigstad ◽  
S. R. Ólafsdóttir ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Surface Layer ◽  
Inorganic Carbon ◽  
Dissolved Inorganic Carbon ◽  
Vertical Mixing ◽  
Sea Surface ◽  
Net Community Production ◽  
Horizontal Advection ◽  
Vertical Fluxes ◽  
Community Production

Abstract. This study evaluates long-term mean fluxes of carbon and nutrients to the upper 100 m of the Iceland Sea. The study utilises hydro-chemical data from the Iceland Sea time series station (68.00° N, 12.67° W), for the years between 1993 and 2006. By comparing data of dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) and nutrients in the surface layer (upper 100 m), and a sub-surface layer (100–200 m), we calculate monthly deficits in the surface, and use these to deduce the long-term mean surface layer fluxes that affect the deficits: vertical mixing, horizontal advection, air–sea exchange, and biological activity. The deficits show a clear seasonality with a minimum in winter, when the mixed layer is at the deepest, and a maximum in early autumn, when biological uptake has removed much of the nutrients. The annual vertical fluxes of DIC and nitrate amounts to 2.9 ± 0.5 and 0.45 ± 0.09 mol m−2 yr−1, respectively, and the annual air–sea uptake of atmospheric CO2 is 4.4 ± 1.1 mol C m−2 yr−1. The biologically driven changes in DIC during the year relates to net community production (NCP), and the net annual NCP corresponds to export production, and is here calculated as 7.3 ± 1.0 mol C m−2 yr−1. The typical, median C : N ratio during the period of net community uptake is 9.0, and clearly higher than the Redfield ratio, but is varying during the season.

scholarly journals Contrasting trends in sea ice and primary production in the Bering Sea and Arctic Ocean

2012 ◽  
Vol 69 (7) ◽  
pp. 1180-1193 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zachary W. Brown ◽  
Kevin R. Arrigo
Keyword(s):  
Sea Ice ◽  
Primary Production ◽  
Arctic Ocean ◽  
Bering Sea ◽  
Net Primary Productivity ◽  
Remote Sensing Data ◽  
Ice Cover ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Light Limitation ◽  
The Bering Sea

Abstract Brown, Z. W., and Arrigo, K. R. 2012. Contrasting trends in sea ice and primary production in the Bering Sea and Arctic Ocean. – ICES Journal of Marine Science, 69: . Satellite remote sensing data were used to examine recent trends in sea-ice cover and net primary productivity (NPP) in the Bering Sea and Arctic Ocean. In nearly all regions, diminished sea-ice cover significantly enhanced annual NPP, indicating that light-limitation predominates across the seasonally ice-covered waters of the northern hemisphere. However, long-term trends have not been uniform spatially. The seasonal ice pack of the Bering Sea has remained consistent over time, partially because of winter winds that have continued to carry frigid Arctic air southwards over the past six decades. Hence, apart from the “Arctic-like” Chirikov Basin (where sea-ice loss has driven a 30% increase in NPP), no secular trends are evident in Bering Sea NPP, which averaged 288 ± 26 Tg C year−1 over the satellite ocean colour record (1998–2009). Conversely, sea-ice cover in the Arctic Ocean has plummeted, extending the open-water growing season by 45 d in just 12 years, and promoting a 20% increase in NPP (range 441–585 Tg C year−1). Future sea-ice loss will likely stimulate additional NPP over the productive Bering Sea shelves, potentially reducing nutrient flux to the downstream western Arctic Ocean.

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