Dissolved zinc in the western Bering Sea and near Kamchatka Strait: A coastal source and transport to the subarctic Pacific

Abstract

Dissolved zinc (dZn) is an important micronutrient for phytoplankton in the ocean. In high nutrient low chlorophyll (HNLC) regions like the western Bering Sea basin, Zn deficiency might induce shifts in phytoplankton community species. In this study, we presented the first dZn distribution data in the western Bering Sea and near Kamchatka Strait and investigated the biogeochemical cycles of Zn in these regions. Although dZn and silicate (Si) show similar distribution patterns in the global ocean, there is an excess of dZn relative to Si in the intermediate waters of our study region, similar to that previously observed in the subarctic Pacific. The uptake and subsequent regeneration patterns of dZn, Si, and phosphate (PO4) in the study region reveal that excess dZn in the subarctic Pacific is not derived from biogenic processes, because the uptake and regeneration ratios of dZn to phosphate (PO4) cannot account for the additional dZn supplied. Instead, our analyses indicate that a significant proportion of dZn in the region originates from the non-reductive release from shelf sediments. dZn concentrations were elevated in coastal regions at the same isopycnal where excess dZn was observed in the subarctic Pacific, suggesting that some of these sediment-derived dZn were transported to the subarctic Pacific.