Chlorophyll-a and primary production during spring in the oceanic region of the Oyashio Water, the north-western Pacific

Abstract

The concentration of phytoplankton chlorophyll-a (chl-a) and primary production within the euphotic zone (at depths corresponding to 100, 30, 10 and 2% light) were measured in the oceanic region of the Oyashio Water, the north-western Pacific, in spring of 1993, 1994 and 1995. The chl-a concentrations ranged from 0.15 to 6.98 mg m−3 and the range of chl-a standing stock integrated from the surface to the 2% light depth was between 4 and 43 mg m−2. The daily primary production integrated from the surface to the 2 and 0.2% light depths was estimated to be between 94 and 1695 mg C m−2 d−1 and between 114 and 2046 mg C m−2 d−1, respectively. Phytoplankton bloom was noticed when the depths of the euphotic zone and the upper mixed layer were similar. The maximum chl-a concentration and daily primary production in the upper 0.2% light depth were comparable to those reported previously in the spring bloom in the coastal, offshore and oceanic regions of the Oyashio Water, and in the summer bloom of the Western Subarctic Gyre in the North Pacific. The magnitude of daily primary production in the phytoplankton bloom in the western subarctic North Pacific (the Oyashio Water and the Western Subarctic Gyre) was comparable with those in the eastern subarctic North Pacific and the subarctic North Atlantic. The magnitude of chl-a in the phytoplankton bloom in the western subarctic North Pacific was higher than those in the other subarctic regions. Varied contribution of large diatoms to the phytoplankton biomass, caused by different iron and silicate conditions was hypothesized to be a leading factor for variation in magnitude of the phytoplankton biomass.