Advection Of Deep Water Research Articles

Radioisotope constraints of Arctic deep water export to the North Atlantic

The export of deep water from the Arctic to the Atlantic contributes to the formation of North Atlantic Deep Water, a crucial component of global ocean circulation. Records of protactinium-231 (231Pa) and thorium-230 (230Th) in Arctic sediments can provide a measure of this export, but well-constrained sedimentary budgets of these isotopes have been difficult to achieve in the Arctic Ocean. Previous studies revealed a deficit of 231Pa in central Arctic sediments, implying that some 231Pa is either transported to the margins, where it may be removed in areas of higher particle flux, or exported from the Arctic via deep water advection. Here we investigate this “missing sink” of Arctic 231Pa and find moderately increased 231Pa deposition along Arctic margins. Nonetheless, we determine that most 231Pa missing from the central basin must be lost via advection into the Nordic Seas, requiring deep water advection of 1.1 – 6.4 Sv through Fram Strait.

Mapping cold-water coral biomass: an approach to derive ecosystem functions

This study presents a novel approach resulting in the first cold-water coral reef biomass maps, used to assess associated ecosystem functions, such as carbon (C) stock and turnover. We focussed on two dominant ecosystem engineers at the Mingulay Reef Complex, the coral Lophelia pertusa (rubble, live and dead framework) and the sponge Spongosorites coralliophaga. Firstly, from combining biological (high-definition video, collected specimens), environmental (extracted from multibeam bathymetry) and ecosystem function (oxygen consumption rate values) data, we calculated biomass, C stock and turnover which can feed into assessments of C budgets. Secondly, using those values, we employed random forest modelling to predictively map whole-reef live coral and sponge biomass. The whole-reef mean biomass of S. coralliophaga was estimated to be 304 T (range 168–440 T biomass), containing 10 T C (range 5–18 T C) stock. The mean skeletal mass of the coral colonies (live and dead framework) was estimated to be 3874 T (range 507–9352 T skeletal mass), containing a mean of 209 T of biomass (range 26–515 T biomass) and a mean of 465 T C (range 60–1122 T C) stock. These estimates were used to calculate the C turnover rates, using respiration data available in the literature. These calculations revealed that the epi- and microbial fauna associated with coral rubble were the largest contributor towards C turnover in the area with a mean of 163 T C year−1 (range 149–176 T C year−1). The live and dead framework of L. pertusa were estimated to overturn a mean of 32 T C year−1 (range 4–93 T C year−1) and 44 T C year−1 (range 6–139 T C year−1), respectively. Our calculations showed that the Mingulay Reef overturned three to seven (with a mean of four) times more C than a soft-sediment area at a similar depth. As proof of concept, the supply of C needed from surface water primary productivity to the reef was inferred. Since 65–124 T C year−1 is supplied by natural deposition and our study suggested that a mean of 241 T C year−1 (range 160–400 T C year−1), was turned over by the reef, a mean of 117–176 T C year−1 (range 36–335 T C year−1) of the reef would therefore be supplied by tidal downwelling and/or deep-water advection. Our results indicate that monitoring and/or managing surface primary productivity would be a key consideration for any efforts towards the conservation of cold-water coral reef ecosystems.

U-Th chronology and paleoceanographic record in a Fe-Mn crust from the NE Atlantic over the last 700 ka

Hydrogenetic ferromanganese crusts (Fe-Mn crusts) provide a secular record of the variations of seawater composition responding to changes in ocean circulation and erosion processes. In this respect, the acquisition of an absolute and reliable chronology in Fe-Mn crusts is a prerequisite. Here we combine four different and complementary chronometers ( 10Be, 230Th ex, 230Th ex/ 232Th, 234U/ 238U) in a Fe-Mn crust dredged at ∼2000 m depth in the east Atlantic to first establish a reliable chronology over the Quaternary period. Then, we use EDS chemical analysis to look for correlation between major element chemistry and climate changes. ( 230Th ex), ( 230Th ex/ 232Th), and Be data give very consistent growth rates. In particular, the good match between ( 230Th ex) and ( 230Th ex/ 232Th) data indicates that at the location of crust 121DK, 230Th and 232Th fluxes in the water column change simultaneously and suggests that the normalization of 230Th ex to 232Th makes ( 230Th ex/ 232Th) a better chronometer. Our best-fit model suggests that crust 121DK experienced changes in growth rates at ∼122 and 312 ka and a growth with a constant 230Th initial flux. This chronology returns an age of 680 ka for the uppermost 1.5 mm. The ( 234U/ 238U) depth profile, however, was clearly affected by diffusion of 234U in the porous crust and can therefore not be used to derive a reliable chronology. One part of the crust seems isolated from pore water diffusion and can be physically recognized as a zone of very small porosity. On the basis of the ( 230Th ex/ 232Th) chronology, major element chemistry is shown to be linked to climate change. Mn/Fe variations compare well with those in a Fe-Mn crust from the Pacific, showing systematic maxima during glacial stages 2 and 4. High Mn/Fe are tentatively interpreted to reflect expansion of the oxygen minimum zone during glacial periods, resulting from higher bioproductivity. In addition we note that the surface ( 230Th/ 232Th) activity ratio of crust 121DK is entirely consistent with advection of deep water from the western toward the eastern Atlantic basin.

Eolian inputs of lead to the North Pacific

We evaluate the importance of natural eolian Pb to the dissolved oceanic Pb budget by measuring the isotopic composition of Pb in 35 Holocene and late Quaternary sediment samples from the North Pacific and in 10 samples of Chinese loess. When the Pacific is divided into sediments provinces based on published ε Nd and sedimentological data, Pb from the central North Pacific tends to be the most radiogenic and homogeneous due to the dominance of eolian Chinese loess. Lead from the marginal North Pacific and the sparsely sampled regions south of 5°N are less radiogenic and more variable owing to hemipelagic inputs from various volcanic arcs and older continental crust located around the Pacific Rim. 208Pb/ 204Pb ratios provide the most distinctive provenance information due to the relatively high ratios in Chinese loess. The Chinese loess samples come from 3 localities and span up to 2 Myr of time. Acetic-acid leachate, bulk loess, and loess silicate fractions were analyzed separately. Leachate Pb is considerably less radiogenic than silicate Pb. The isotopic composition of the silicate component closely matches the sediment data from the central North Pacific, confirming the dominance of eolian loess in this region. We divided up a suite of published hydrogenous Pb-isotope data from the Pacific Ocean according to their locations within the three independently defined sediment provinces. These data define three distinct fields differentiated primarily by their 206Pb/ 204Pb ratios, which increase going from the Central to Southern to Marginal provinces. This relationship with sediment province strongly suggests that natural eolian and probably hemipelagic inputs significantly impact the seawater Pb budget. Direct support for the dominance of eolian Chinese loess in the central North Pacific dissolved Pb budget comes from the close match between loess leachate Pb and the Central Province hydrogenous Pb data. Eolian inputs are likely to dominate local seawater Pb budgets only where eolian Pb fluxes are high relative to hemipelagic Pb fluxes and where the flux of Pb carried by deep water advection is low.

Temporal Irregularities in the Macrobenthic Community and Deep-Water Advection in Wismar Bay (Western Baltic Sea)

Wismar Bay is a shallow coastal embayment in the Western Baltic Sea which is polluted by various industries. Macrobenthos data collected between 1986–91 are examined for qualitative and quantitative changes attributable to oxygen depletion and the subsequent time needed for recovery. Regular oceanographic surveys since 1976 indicate one episode of oxygen deficiency, caused by deep-water intrusion into the study area. However, principal component analyses show that the benthic community alternated between periods of relative stability and sudden change at both of the deeper sites examined. Deep-water intrusions from outside the bay are documented twice followed by sudden changes in the benthic community, but similar events may also have occurred in other years. The benthos showed little resilience when impacted, and the changes in the benthic community during July–August are proposed to monitor the future influence of the deep-water intrusions.

Hydrographic Variability in the Bottom Layer of the Iceland Basin

Abstract The variability of the lowest 400 dbar in the Deep Iceland Basin has been studied for the years 1988–1991. It appears that hydrographic parameters of the Iceland–Scotland Overflow Water in the lowest 100 dbar mainly vary on longer timescales (interannual). Centered around 140 dbar from the bottom, at a more or less constant density level, salinity, dissolved silica, oxygen, and potential vorticity show a maximum in variability. This is attributed to the isopycnal advection of lenses of water with distinct, coherent hydrographic properties. These lenses are assumed to form a mechanism for lateral isopycnal advection of deep water, enriched with either Lower Deep Water or Subpolar Mode Water. The vertical extent of the lenses is determined by a density window between Labrador Sea Water and Iceland–Scotland Overflow Water, centered around σ2.5 = 39.27 kg m−3. The lateral, isopycnal advection, followed by subsequent diapycnal mixing, is proposed as the mechanism to incorporate Lower Deep Water into t...