Abstract
The input of aeolian mineral dust to the oceans is regarded as the major source in supplying bioavailable iron for phytoplankton growth. Severe dust events swept over East Asia during the 26 March to the 4 April 2018, decreasing air quality to hazardous levels, with maximum PM10 mass concentrations above 3000 μg m−3 in northern China. Based on a comprehensive approach that combines multiple satellite measurements, ground observations, and model simulation, we revealed that two severe Asian dust events originating from the Taklimakan and Gobi deserts on 26 March and 1 April, were transported through northern China and the East/Japan Sea, to the North Pacific Ocean by westerly wind systems. Transportation pathways dominated by mineral dust aerosols were observed at altitudes of 2–7 km in the source regions, and then ascending to 3–10 km in the North Pacific Ocean, with relatively denser dust plumes within the second dust episode than there were during the first. Our results suggest that mineral dust emitted from the Taklimakan and Gobi deserts could increase ocean primary productivity in the North Pacific Ocean by up to ~50%, compared to average conditions. This emphasizes the potential importance of the deposition of Asian mineral dust over the North Pacific Ocean for enhancing the biological pump.
Highlights
Iron acts as an essential micronutrient to enhance the biological pump by stimulating phytoplankton growth [1,2]
Asian dust, which mainly originates from the Gobi and Taklimakan deserts in central Asia, accounts for approximately 25% of total aeolian dust emissions, and is the second largest dust source of mineral dust to the oceans [12,13]
The North Pacific Ocean (Figure 1), where ocean primary productivity (OPP) is co-limited by nitrogen and iron [14,15,16], is located downwind from the source regions of Asian dust [17,18,19], and is an ideal location for determining the response of open waters to these events
Summary
Iron acts as an essential micronutrient to enhance the biological pump by stimulating phytoplankton growth [1,2]. The input of aeolian dust into the ocean environment is regarded as the major source of bioavailable iron in surface waters [6,7]. This phenomenon has potential implications for ocean primary productivity (OPP), global carbon cycling, and climate, at both glacial-interglacial time scales, and in current times [8,9,10]. The North Pacific Ocean (Figure 1), where OPP is co-limited by nitrogen and iron [14,15,16], is located downwind from the source regions of Asian dust [17,18,19], and is an ideal location for determining the response of open waters to these events
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