Observed denitrification in the northeast Arabian Sea during the winter-spring transition of 2009

Abstract

The central and northeast Arabian Sea (AS) has an intense and thick oxygen minimum zone (OMZ) and denitrification zone. It is comparable with the strongest OMZ of the north-equatorial Pacific Ocean. Denitrification in the AS is revisited using a set of cruise observations collected during February–March of 2009 by the Centre for Marine Living Resources, India. The region possesses one of the most robust N* depleted water reaching as low as -20 μmol l −1 at depths (~600 m). In AS, the oxygen depletion is mainly due to sluggish circulation, weak lateral and vertical ventilation. The biological respiration in oxygen deficit condition depletes nitrate and further modifies the Redfield ratio at intermediate depths (200-600 m) from 16N:1P to 8N:1P. Further, analysis of phytoplankton groups present at the surface identifies the presence of Trichodesmium erythraeum , a nitrogen fixing species. The denitrification rate is estimated as 25.3 ± 7.0 Tg N yr −1 . It is consistent with past estimates, and no dramatic change in denitrification in the AS was noticed. The study also highlights the potential for further research on N 2 production from the Arabian Sea Oxygen Minimum Zones in a changing climate. Nitrate is an essential compound for phytoplankton photosynthesis. In most ocean waters, the ratio between N and P is a constant (16:1), called the Redfield ratio. Various processes can modify the Redfield ratio in the ocean, such as denitrification, nitrification, and anammox. Denitrification is a process through which the microbial processes remove the fixed nitrogen in the absence of enough dissolved oxygen in the water column (oxygen minimum zone; OMZ). In the Arabian Sea, a vast region of OMZ formed due to the combined effects of biological respiration, sluggish circulations in the intermediate depths, and strong thermocline, which prohibits the supply of oxygen from deep waters. Our study revisits the denitrification in the Arabian Sea OMZ region during the winter to spring transition season in 2009 using a set of onboard measurements. Due to this denitrification, an intense modification in the Redfield ratio in the northeast Arabian Sea region's intermediate depths is noted as 8N:1P. • Low N* in the intermediate depths in the Arabian Sea indicates denitrification. • Denitrification modifies the Redfield Ratio from 16 N:1P to 8 N:1P. • The study estimates a rate of denitrification as 25.3 ± 7.0 Tg N yr -1. • Study confirms no drastic change in denitrification for the Arabian Sea.