Deep Winter Mixing Research Articles

On the Seasonal Cycle of Phytoplankton Bio‐Optical Properties Inside a Warm Core Ring in the Gulf of Mexico

AbstractFour underwater glider missions were carried out to sample the physical and bio‐optical properties inside a Loop Current Eddy (LCE) in the Gulf of Mexico, to investigate whether the winter deepening of the mixed‐layer and erosion of the nitracline stimulates phytoplankton growth. Recent coupled physical‐biogeochemical numerical models support this mechanism, but observations using profiling floats suggest that there is no seasonal cycle on integrated phytoplankton biomass. Here, data collected by underwater gliders during a full seasonal cycle and inside the LCE Poseidon support the idea of an increase in phytoplankton biomass during winter, consistent with nutrient entrainment into the euphotic zone. The changes in fluorescence emission per chlorophyll‐a unit and their implications for interpreting bio‐optical variability were also assessed. Linear regressions between in vivo chlorophyll‐a fluorescence and satellite chlorophyll‐a concentration show the largest (smallest) slopes during winter (summer), suggesting a shift in the phytoplankton community along the year or photoacclimation. Although the glider data set is convolved by temporal and spatial variability, and chlorophyll‐a fluorescence is affected by multiple factors, the concomitant enhancement of particle backscattering coefficient and chlorophyll‐a observed during winter supports the occurrence of a seasonal cycle in phytoplankton biomass. Deep vertical mixing in winter inside the core of the LCE, can promote fertilization through vertical diffusion of nutrients. Poseidon was an extraordinary, large, and strong, LCE that prompted phytoplankton blooms in winter highlighting their relevance for primary production and in general for biogeochemical processes.

Building your own mountain: the effects, limits, and drawbacks of cold-water coral ecosystem engineering

Abstract. Framework-forming cold-water corals (CWCs) are ecosystem engineers that build mounds in the deep sea that can be up to several hundred metres high. The effect of the presence of cold-water coral mounds on their surroundings is typically difficult to separate from environmental factors that are not affected by the mounds. We investigated the environmental control on and the importance of ecosystem engineering for cold-water coral reefs using annotated video transect data, spatial variables (MEMs), and hydrodynamic model outputs in a redundancy analysis and with variance partitioning. Using available hydrodynamic simulations with cold-water coral mounds and simulations where the mounds were artificially removed, we investigated the effect of coral mound ecosystem engineering on the spatial configuration of reef habitat and discriminated which environmental factors are and which are not affected by the mounds. We find that downward velocities in winter, related to non-engineered environmental factors, e.g. deep winter mixing and dense-water cascading, cause substantial differences in reef cover at the broadest spatial scale (20–30 km). Such hydrodynamic processes that stimulate the food supply towards the corals in winter seem more important for the reefs than cold-water coral mound engineering or similar hydrodynamic processes in summer. While the ecosystem-engineering effect of cold-water corals is frequently discussed, our results also highlight the importance of non-engineered environmental processes. We further find that, due to the interaction between the coral mound and the water flow, different hydrodynamic zones are found on coral mounds that likely determine the typical benthic zonations of coral rubble at the mound foot, the dead coral framework on the mound flanks, and the living corals near the summit. Moreover, we suggest that a so-called Massenerhebung effect (well known for terrestrial mountains) exists, meaning that benthic zonation depends on the location of the mound rather than on the height above the seafloor or water depth. Our finding that ecosystem engineering determines the configuration of benthic habitats on cold-water coral mounds implies that cold-water corals cannot grow at deeper depths on the mounds to avoid the adverse effects of climate change.

Impact of Water Mass Mixing on the Composition and Mineralization of Dissolved Organic Matter in the Deep Labrador Sea

AbstractThe Labrador Sea is a region of the North Atlantic known for its strong ocean currents and deep water formation, which contribute to the transport and mixing of water masses throughout the region. The absorbing and fluorescing properties of dissolved organic matter (DOM) were assessed to track the water masses and the in situ production in the Labrador Sea (>200 m). No significant differences in DOM composition were found in the mesopelagic waters (200–1,000 m). In the bathypelagic waters (1,000–4,000 m), the estimated dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and dissolved lignin concentrations, as well as humic‐like fluorescence intensities, allowed the discrimination of North East Atlantic Deep Water versus Denmark Strait overflow water. The humic‐like intensities were significantly different between upper Labrador Sea water (uLSW) and deep LSW (dLSW) suggesting their applications as tracers of deep winter mixing. The significant correlations with apparent oxygen utilization support the in situ production of humic‐like fluorescence and the net microbial consumption of DOC and lignin in the dark Labrador Sea. We also demonstrated that microbial activities play a role in the production of humic‐like compounds in the dLSW that experiences deep convection mixing.

Variability and controls of the ocean acidification metrics pH and pCO2 in a large embayment of an Eastern Boundary Upwelling System (EBUS)

An assessment was undertaken of the spatial and temporal variability of pCO2 and pH in St Helena Bay, a highly productive, wide-open bay located in the Benguela, a major eastern boundary upwelling system (EBUS). Mechanisms controlling their patterns of variability and their linkage to the distribution of oxygen are explored. The mean surface pCO2 was 385 μatm, below the mean atmospheric concentration of 410 μatm, indicative of a system serving as a CO2 sink. The corresponding mean pH of bay surface waters was 8.3. The greatest variation from these means was driven by deep winter mixing causing a seasonal reversal of the air-sea pCO2 gradient. Mean surface pCO2 was also elevated above mean atmospheric levels in the nearshore (<15 m depth), a likely consequence of higher microbial respiration in the upper water column due to regular resuspension of detrital material. The nearshore of the bay is also sometimes subject to high biomass dinoflagellate blooms referred to as red tides, and their decay leads to exceptional pCO2 concentrations. Discharge from the Berg River and the associated degradation of terrestrially derived organic matter also contributes to higher pCO2 in the nearshore particularly during winter when rainfall is highest. Through the water column the important role of photosynthesis in determining the vertical distribution of pCO2 is evident in that pCO2 is shown to be a function of both Chl a and PAR. In St Helena Bay nearly 50% of water column biomass is located below the community compensation depth (i.e. where respiration carbon loss exceeds gross community production) leading to rapidly declining O2 and increasing pCO2 concentrations with depth. Resulting conditions of bottom water hypoxia/anoxia are therefore accompanied by more corrosive waters (pH declining to ∼7.4) and conditions of severe hypercapnia (pCO2 exceeding 2000 μatm) subjecting marine life to multiple stressors. St Helena Bay and similar bays in EBUS are likely to provide extrema in the deoxygenation and acidification of coastal waters.

Thirty years of a bottom oxygen depletion-renewal cycle in the coastal yet deep environment of the West Saronikos Gulf (Greece): Its drivers and the impact on the benthic communities

In the period 1987–2017, a series of physical and chemical measurements related to oxygen variability at a trough area with a maximum depth of ~420 m in the West Saronikos Gulf, reveal the following: In the early 90s, deep winter mixing occurred resulting in an oxygenation down to ~420 m followed by an oxygen decline. This decline reached near-bottom hypoxic conditions (O2 < ~62 μM (μmol/L)) after 1998, while a denitrification phase occurred after 2000 and a complete bottom anoxia in 2005. In June 2012, an oxygenation down to ~350 m was detected that most likely occurred in winter 2012. The 2012 oxygenation raised the until-then anoxic bottom concentrations to hypoxic ones in the years towards 2017 via vertical diffusive oxygen transfer. Observations of the benthic communities during the hypoxia, severe hypoxia (O2 < ~15 μM) and oxygen recovery phases showed a peak of opportunists in the hypoxia and a long faunal depletion in the severe hypoxia phases. A reversal in the benthic community structure appeared after the oxygenation of 2012 with the (re)appearance of opportunists while, in 2017, the community showed signs of retreat to earlier stages. The main anthropogenic pressure that could tentatively affect the oxygen concentration in the study area is posed by the Athens treated-sewage outfall at ~40 km away from the trough, which inputs organic matter into the Saronikos Gulf through effluent water of reduced salinity that, in addition, may alter the stratification opposing the vertical mixing. We show that the treated sewage output had no influence on a) the stratification, b) the particulate and dissolved organic carbon and c) the sewage-derived organic matter. Instead, the long-term dissolved oxygen variability with the deep renewal events was mostly driven by the large-scale atmosphere-ocean conditions (heat exchange and evaporation-minus-precipitation budget) that determine the hydrographic characteristics and the winter mixing.

Influence of Winter Subsurface on the Following Summer Variability in Northern California Current System

AbstractTemperature variations in the North and tropical Pacific contribute to the predictability of temperatures along the 26.4σ isopycnal layer off the Northern California Current System (N‐CCS). Monthly temperature variations at this depth in the N‐CCS are related to a linear combination of factors, including North Pacific spice anomalies, and the PDO and ENSO climate indices. However, the mechanisms for seasonal predictability of subsurface temperatures, are not well explored. While wind and buoyancy driven deep winter mixing influence subsurface temperatures during the following summer in the deep basin of the North Pacific, a coupled atmosphere‐ocean reanalysis (the CFSR) reveals that winter prior surface temperatures explain only 25% of the summer subsurface temperatures in the N‐CCS. A heat budget of the intermediate layer between a temporally varying mixed layer and the 26.4σ level is diagnosed here to explore the possible role of oceanic advection in explaining the remaining variance. Warmer waters from the south near the coast drive temperature changes in ENSO‐neutral winters, thereby preconditioning temperatures for the following summer. During ENSO winters, isopycnal variations associated with propagating coastal kelvin waves and other sources of heaving, along with anomalous alongshore currents, drive convergence/divergence of the advective fluxes, thereby reducing the local memory of the winter subsurface temperatures. Variations in winter advection could account for almost 36% of the summer subsurface temperature variability in the N‐CCS; this exceeds the portion explained by the heat fluxes associated with deep winter mixing.

Haline Сontrol of Unusually Deep Winter Mixing in the Gulf of Maine Investigated Using a Regional Data‐Assimilative Model

AbstractAn unusually large positive salinity anomaly was observed across the eastern Gulf of Maine in winter 2017–2018. Buoy measurements in Jordan Basin found this anomaly extended down to at least 100 m, the deepest mixing observed in the past 19 years. Similarly, this is the strongest positive regional salt anomaly ever observed in sea surface salinity (SSS) satellite observations. To determine the source waters driving this event and to diagnose the relative importance of forcing processes, passive tracer adjoint sensitivity experiments are performed using a data assimilating version of the Regional Ocean Modeling System. The model suggests that northeastward Scotian Shelf wind anomalies is one factor in the dramatic decrease in freshwater transport to Jordan Basin, which leads to an early winter upper water column salinity surplus. This salinity change weakens the normally haline‐controlled vertical stratification across the eastern Gulf. Modeled upper ocean density and vertical diffusivity from 2007 to 2021 both show a maximum in January 2018. Winter 2017–2018 is the only period where the enhanced winter mixing extends below 100 m. Thus, anomalous vertical entrainment of saltier subsurface Gulf water is the major factor driving the extreme positive satellite‐observed SSS anomaly across the eastern Gulf including Jordan Basin. Other factors, including a modest increase in wind‐forced slope water transport, and positive fall 2017 salinity anomalies on the Scotian Shelf and Slope Sea, appear to play lesser roles in the observed salinification. The adjoint sensitivity analysis demonstrates its utility for back tracing transport pathways for periods of several months.

Subtropical Contribution to Sub‐Antarctic Mode Waters

AbstractSub‐Antarctic Mode Waters (SAMW) form to the north of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC) through deep winter mixing. SAMW connect the atmosphere with the oceanic pycnocline, transferring heat and carbon into the ocean interior and supplying nutrients to the northern ocean basins. The processes controlling SAMW ventilation and properties remain poorly understood. Here, we investigate the significance and origin of a ubiquitous feature of SAMW formation regions: The seasonal build‐up of a subsurface salinity maximum. With biogeochemical Argo floats, we show that this feature influences SAMW mixed‐layer dynamics, and that its formation is associated with a decline in preformed nutrients comparable to biological drawdown in surface waters (∼0.15 mol m−2 y−1). Our analysis reveals that these features are driven by advection of warm, salty, nutrient‐poor waters of subtropical origin along the ACC. This influx represents a leading‐order term in the SAMW physical and biogeochemical budgets, and can impact large‐scale nutrient distributions.

Winter dissolved and particulate zinc in the Indian Sector of the Southern Ocean: Distribution and relation to major nutrients (GEOTRACES GIpr07 transect)

First winter measurements of dissolved zinc (dZn) and particulate zinc (pZn) are presented from seven stations, between 41 and 58°S, occupied in July 2017 along the 30°E longitude in the Indian Sector of the Southern Ocean. This unique spatial and seasonal dataset provided the opportunity to investigate Zn biogeochemical cycling in a region which is extremely data scarce and during a period when conditions are unfavourable for phytoplankton growth. Surface comparisons of our winter dZn and pZn to previous measurements during spring and summer revealed that Zn seasonality is most pronounced at the higher latitudes where higher dZn (and higher ratios of dZn to phosphate; dZn:PO4) and lower pZn in winter reflect decreased biological uptake and preferential dZn resupply (relative to PO4) to surface waters through deep winter mixing. The composition of pZn was majorly biogenic however localised lithogenic inputs were attributed to potential hydrothermal activity and transport of continental sediment via Agulhas waters. Calculated vertical attenuation factors (b values) for pZn (0.31) and phosphorus (P; 0.41) suggest that Zn has a longer remineralisation length scale than P, providing a mechanism as to why dZn appears to be remineralised deeper in the water column than PO4. Ratios of pZn to P (pZn:P) in surface waters increased with latitude from 1.12 to 8.28 mmol mol−1 due to increased dZn availability and the dominance of diatoms (with high cellular Zn quotas) in the high latitude Antarctic Zone (AAZ). Interestingly, the high surface pZn:P ratios in the AAZ did not change significantly with depth (in contrast to the northern stations where pZn:P increased with depth) suggesting the export of diatom cells below the winter mixed layer where remineralisation and rigorous mixing may resolve the linear dZn to silicic acid (dZn:Si(OH)4) correlation (dZn (nmol kg−1) = 0.064 Si(OH)4 (μmol kg−1) + 0.690; r2 = 0.93; n = 120) despite these elements being located in separate components of the diatom cell. Additionally, elevated concentrations of dZn and Si(OH)4 below 3000 m in the AAZ may reflect nutrient accumulation in bottom waters where northward flow is inhibited by the Indian mid-Ocean ridge.

Planktic foraminiferal changes in the western Mediterranean Anthropocene

The increase in anthropogenic induced warming over the last two centuries is impacting marine environment. Planktic foraminifera are a globally distributed calcifying marine zooplankton responding sensitively to changes in sea surface temperatures and interacting with the food web structure. Here, we study two high resolution multicore records from two western Mediterranean Sea regions (Alboran and Balearic basins), areas highly affected by both natural climate change and anthropogenic warming. Cores cover the time interval from the Medieval Climate Anomaly to present. Reconstructed sea surface temperatures are in good agreement with other results, tracing temperature changes through the Common Era (CE) and show a clear warming emergence at about 1850 CE. Both cores show opposite abundance fluctuations of planktic foraminiferal species ( Globigerina bulloides , Globorotalia inflata and Globorotalia truncatulinoides), a common group of marine calcifying zooplankton. The relative abundance changes of Globorotalia truncatulinoides plus Globorotalia inflata describe the intensity of deep winter mixing in the Balearic basin. In the Alboran Sea, Globigerina bulloides and Globorotalia inflata instead respond to local upwelling dynamics. In the pre-industrial era, changes in planktic foraminiferal productivity and species composition can be explained mainly by the natural variability of the North Atlantic Oscillation, and, to a lesser extent, by the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation. In the industrial era, starting from about 1800 CE, this variability is affected by anthropogenic surface warming, leading to enhanced vertical stratification of the upper water column, and resulting in a decrease of surface productivity at both sites. We found that natural planktic foraminiferal population dynamics in the western Mediterranean is already altered by enhanced anthropogenic impact in the industrial era, suggesting that in this region natural cycles are being overprinted by human influences. • Western Mediterranean planktic foraminifera and sea surface temperature records. • Planktic foraminiferal changes explained by natural variability in pre-industrial times. • Anthropogenic warming depletes marine surface production.

An Arctic Strait of Two Halves: The Changing Dynamics of Nutrient Uptake and Limitation Across the Fram Strait

AbstractThe hydrography of the Arctic Seas is being altered by ongoing climate change, with knock‐on effects to nutrient dynamics and primary production. As the major pathway of exchange between the Arctic and the Atlantic, the Fram Strait hosts two distinct water masses in the upper water column, northward flowing warm and saline Atlantic Waters in the east, and southward flowing cold and fresh Polar Surface Water in the west. Here, we assess how physical processes control nutrient dynamics in the Fram Strait using nitrogen isotope data collected during 2016 and 2018. In Atlantic Waters, a weakly stratified water column and a shallow nitracline reduce nitrogen limitation. To the west, in Polar Surface Water, nitrogen limitation is greater because stronger stratification inhibits nutrient resupply from deeper water and lateral nitrate supply from central Arctic waters is low. A historical hindcast simulation of ocean biogeochemistry from 1970 to 2019 corroborates these findings and highlights a strong link between nitrate supply to Atlantic Waters and the depth of winter mixing, which shoaled during the simulation in response to a local reduction in sea‐ice formation. Overall, we find that while the eastern Fram Strait currently experiences seasonal nutrient replenishment and high primary production, the loss of winter sea ice and continued atmospheric warming has the potential to inhibit deep winter mixing and limit primary production in the future.

Trace Element Biogeochemistry in the High‐Latitude North Atlantic Ocean: Seasonal Variations and Volcanic Inputs

AbstractWe present dissolved and total dissolvable trace elements for spring and summer cruises in 2010 in the high‐latitude North Atlantic. Surface and full depth data are provided for Al, Cd, Co, Cu, Mn, Ni, Pb, and Zn in the Iceland and Irminger Basins, and consequences of biological uptake and inputs by the spring Eyjafjallajökull volcanic eruption are assessed. Ash from Eyjafjallajökull resulted in pronounced increases in Al, Mn, and Zn in surface waters in close proximity to Iceland during the eruption, while 3 months later during the summer cruise levels had returned to more typical values for the region. The apparent seasonal removal ratios of surface trace elements were consistent with biological export. Assessment of supply of trace elements to the surface mixed layer for the region, excluding volcanic inputs, indicated that deep winter mixing was the dominant source, with diffusive mixing being a minor source (between 13.5% [dissolved Cd, DCd] and −2.43% [DZn] of deep winter flux), and atmospheric inputs being an important source only for DAl and DZn (DAl up to 42% and DZn up to 4.2% of deep winter + diffusive fluxes) and typically less than 1% for the other elements. Elemental supply ratios to the surface mixed layer through convection were comparable to apparent removal ratios we calculated between spring and summer. Given that deep mixing dominated nutrient and trace element supply to surface waters, predicted increases in water column stratification in this region may reduce supply, with potential consequences for primary production and the biological carbon pump.

Sensitivity of 21st Century Ocean Carbon Export Flux Projections to the Choice of Export Depth Horizon

AbstractGlobal Earth system model simulations of ocean carbon export flux are commonly interpreted only at a fixed depth horizon of 100 m, despite the fact that the maximum annual mixed layer depth (MLDmax) is a more appropriate depth horizon to evaluate export‐driven carbon sequestration. We compare particulate organic carbon (POC) flux and export efficiency (e‐ratio) evaluated at both the MLDmax and 100‐m depth horizons, simulated for the 21st century (2005–2100) under the RCP8.5 climate change scenario with the Biogeochemical Elemental Cycle model embedded in the Community Earth System Model (CESM1‐BEC). These two depth horizon choices produce differing baseline global rates and spatial patterns of POC flux and e‐ratio, with the greatest discrepancies found in regions with deep winter mixing. Over the 21st century, enhanced stratification reduces the depth of MLDmax, with the most pronounced reductions in regions that currently experience the deepest winter mixing. Simulated global mean decreases in POC flux and in e‐ratio over the 21st century are similar for both depth horizons (8%–9% for POC flux and 4%–6% for e‐ratio), yet the spatial patterns of change are quite different. The model simulates less pronounced decreases and even increases in POC flux and e‐ratio in deep winter mixing regions when evaluated at MLDmax, since enhanced stratification over the 21st century shoals the depth of this horizon. The differing spatial patterns of change across these two depth horizons demonstrate the importance of including multiple export depth horizons in observational and modeling efforts to monitor and predict potential future changes to export.

Remote Sensing and Argo Float Observations Reveal Physical Processes Initiating a Winter-Spring Phytoplankton Bloom South of the Kuroshio Current Near Shikoku

BIO-Argo float (chlorophyll a (Chl-a), temperature, and salinity profiles) and remote sensing data (Chl-a, photosynthetic available radiation (PAR), and wind) located south of the Kuroshio current near Shikoku from September 2018 to May 2019 were used to study phytoplankton bloom and their mechanisms of development in open oceans. Results show that higher (lower) Chl-a concentrations are correlated with a deeper (shallower) mixed layer (RPearson = 0.77, Rcrit = 0.12 (alpha = 0.05, n = 263)) compared to the average of Chl-a and mixed layer depth (0.13 mg/m3 and 105 m). The average net accumulation rates (r) of phytoplankton were close to 0.08 d−1. An increasing r corresponds to a gradually increasing surface Chl-a (S (Chl-a): 0–20 m average Chl-a) and integrated Chl-a inventory (I (Chl-a): integrated Chl-a from surface to euphotic depth). These phenomena indicate that the mechanism of winter-spring phytoplankton blooms is consistent with the dilution-recoupling hypotheses (DRH). During the bloom formation, winter deep mixing and eddy-wind Ekman pumping are enhanced by a strong winter monsoon. The enhancement may disturb predator–prey interactions and dilute zooplankton in deep mixed layers. Moreover, winter deep mixing and eddy-wind Ekman pumping can cause the nutrients to be transported into the euphotic layer, which can promote the growth of phytoplankton and increase grazing. During the bloom extinction, the stratification strengthens and the intensity of light increases; this increases grazing and nutrient consumption, and decreases the phytoplankton bloom significantly (S (Chl-a) and I (Chl-a) increase by 0.3 mg/m3 and 27 mg/m2, respectively). The output from a biogeochemistry model shows that nutrients are consistent with the temporal distribution of S (Chl-a) and I (Chl-a). Our results suggest that physical processes (deep winter mixing and eddy-wind Ekman pumping) under the DHR framework are critical factors for winter-spring blooms in open oceans with an anticyclone eddy.

A Fukushima tracer perspective on four years of North Pacific mode water evolution

We present the results of a multi-platform investigation that utilizes tracer information provided by the 2011 release of radioisotopes from the Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant to better understand the pathways, mixing and transport of mode waters formed in the North Pacific Ocean. The focus is on transition region mode waters and radiocesium (137Cs and 134Cs) observations obtained from the May–June 2015 GO-SHIP occupation of the 152°W line in the Northeast Pacific. Samples include profiles from the surface to 1000 m and surface/subsurface pairs that provide an average 1° of latitude spacing along 152°W. We find a clear Fukushima (134Cs) signal from the surface to 400 m. The core signal (134Cs ∼10 Bq m-3, 137Cs ∼12 Bq m-3) at 41°-43°N lies at 30–220 m where mode waters formed through deep winter mixing in 2011 outcropped in the western North Pacific. The strongest 2015 152°W Fukushima-source radiocesium signal is associated with Dense-Central Mode Waters consistent with the densest variety of these mode waters being formed off the coast of Japan 4 years earlier. The radionuclide signal transited the basin along subsurface mode water isopycnals mainly on the northern side of the subtropical gyre before outcropping at and to the east of the 152°W line. In 2015, the densest 152°W waters with 134Cs lie at ∼435 m in the bottom range of Dense-Central Mode Water at 40°N. There is a weak, but detectable, signal in the boundary current off both Kodiak and Sitka. The deepest detectable 137Cs (weapon's testing background) are found at and to the north of 45°N at 900–1000 m. With the exception of a single subsurface sample near Hawaii, as of spring 2015, the southernmost 134Cs was found above 200 m at 30°N. A total date-corrected 134Cs inventory of 11–16 PBq is estimated. Qualitative comparison to model output suggests good consistency in terms of general location, latitudinal breadth, and predicted depth of penetration, allowing discussion of the bigger picture. However, the model's 2015 152°W radiocesium signal is quantitatively weaker and the core is offset in latitude, potentially due to the lack of consideration of atmospheric deposition.

Multi-Year Observations of Fluorescence and Backscatter at the Southern Ocean Time Series (SOTS) Shed Light on Two Distinct Seasonal Bio-Optical Regimes

This work presents insights from 6 years of chlorophyll-a fluorescence and backscatter (700 nm) data at the Southern Ocean Time Series (SOTS) moorings, located in the Subantarctic Zone southwest of Tasmania. Using local calibrations from available voyage data, the fluorescence and backscatter records were related to chlorophyll-a (Chl) and particulate organic carbon (POC), allowing us to estimate and interpret carbon:Chl ratios. Surprisingly, observed carbon:Chl ratios were higher in winter than in summer, indicating that photo-acclimation of phytoplankton to decreased light levels in the deep winter mixed layer is not the main signal. Instead, the data suggest a seasonal succession of two trophodynamic regimes at SOTS: a phytoplankton-dominated community in summer, while in winter the proportion of “non-phytoplankton” POC increases. The two regimes can also be differentiated in an optical index based on fluorescence and backscatter, indicating two distinct bio-optical populations. Seasonal iron limitation and deep winter mixing in the SAZ, reaching as deep as 600m, likely play key roles in setting the stage for the observed ecological succession of the two trophodynamic regimes.

Shallow water masses and their connectivity along the southern Australian continental margin

Four water masses are identified and described using hydrographic, nutrient and stable isotope data for the top 1000 m water depth of the southern Australian continental margin, from Cape Leeuwin to Tasmania. Three are identified from previous literature on the southeast Indian Ocean: Subtropical Surface Water (STSW), Tasmanian Subantarctic Mode Water (TSAMW) and Tasmanian Intermediate Water (TIW), and one is newly identified and named: South Australian Basin Central Water (SABCW). STSW (0–250 m) is transported east by the Leeuwin Current System and is modified by heating and evaporation along the subtropical continental shelf. SABCW (250–400 m) and TSAMW (400–650 m) form southwest of Tasmania from deep winter mixing in the region: SABCW at the Subtropical Front and TSAMW north of the Subantarctic Front. TIW (>650 m) forms southwest of Tasmania from mixing of warm, saline Antarctic Intermediate Water from the Tasman Sea and cool, fresh Antarctic Intermediate Water from the Antarctic Circumpolar Current. SABCW, TSAMW and TIW are transported west along the slope by the Flinders Current System, here defined as the western slope-trapped Flinders Current, Tasman Outflow and equatorward Sverdrup transport. Water mass distributions on the slope identify the interface between subantarctic water from the Southern Ocean and subtropical water transported by the Leeuwin Current System. This interface is ~300 m during winter and ~250 m during summer, but can be 150 m during summer in upwelling regions and off western Tasmania. Furthermore, stable isotope data of the water masses south and west of Australia show connectivity between the Subantarctic Zone, the southern Australian margin and the western Australian margin.

Winter and summer distributions of Copper, Zinc and Nickel along the International GEOTRACES Section GIPY05: Insights into deep winter mixing

First measurements of labile dissolved copper (LdCu) and dissolved zinc (dZn) and nickel (dNi) in the Atlantic sector of the Southern Ocean in winter are compared with summer data at reoccupied stations in order to better understand the winter reset state and supply of these trace metals to support productivity. In summer, vertical profiles of zinc behaved similarly to silicate (Si) and increased from sub-nanomolar surface concentrations to 8 nmol kg−1 in bottom waters. Copper profiles also resembled Si and were typically 1 nmol kg−1 in surface waters and increased to 3 nmol kg−1 at depth. First summer nickel data reported from this transect displayed comparatively higher surface concentrations of ~4.6 nmol kg−1 increasing more rapidly to local intermediate depth maximums between 6.5 and 7.0 nmol kg−1, similar to phosphate (PO4). Trace metal seasonality was most apparent in the mixed layer where the average of winter concentrations within the mixed layer exceeded summer values by approximately 0.2 nmol kg−1 for LdCu, 1.2 nmol kg−1 for dZn and 0.3 nmol kg−1 for dNi owing to low utilization under unfavourable growth conditions for phytoplankton. In an effort to estimate the winter reserve, two scenarios were considered. Scenario 1 accounted for in-situ mixed layer depths (MLD) where the winter reserve inventory was calculated by subtracting the summer depth integrated metal inventory (surface to summer MLD) from the winter equivalent (surface to winter MLD). Scenario 2 assumed a constant mixed layer (taken as the depth of the maximum winter mixed layer) where summer depth integrated metal inventories (surface to maximum winter MLD) were subtracted from the winter equivalents (surface to maximum winter MLD). Results for scenario 1 were predominantly dependent on the mixed layer depth which varied spatially and seasonally. Scenario 2 showed a southwards increase in the winter reserve inventory suggesting a greater role for entrainment at higher latitudes in this region. This is however heavily dependent on other physical processes controlling vertical trace metal supply e.g. diapycnal diffusion, Ekman upwelling/downwelling. Zinc (R2 > 0.75) and copper (R2 > 0.73) were strongly correlated with Si throughout the study implicating diatoms as strong controllers of their biogeochemical cycling. Nickel was more strongly correlated with PO4 in the upper water column (R2 > 0.75), as compared to the whole water column (R2 > 0.52), while in the deep ocean nickel appears to correlate with Si although more deep ocean data is needed to confirm this. Trace metal to major nutrient ratios were higher in winter suggesting reduced micronutrient requirement relative to macronutrients under stressed but low productivity conditions.This article is part of a special issue entitled: “Cycles of trace elements and isotopes in the ocean – GEOTRACES and beyond” - edited by Tim M. Conway, Tristan Horner, Yves Plancherel, and Aridane G. González.

One‐Dimensional Turbulence‐Ecosystem Model Reveals the Triggers of the Spring Bloom in Mesoscale Eddies

AbstractA lower trophic ecosystem model coupled with a one‐dimensional physical turbulence closure model was applied to study phytoplankton dynamics and spring bloom initiation in mesoscale anticyclonic eddies (AEs) and cyclonic eddies (CEs). The model simulated ecosystem dynamics between nutrient‐phytoplankton‐zooplankton‐detritus in AEs and CEs, while the physical model provided the seasonal cycle of convective turbulent mixing. The study was motivated by earlier work based on satellite and ship observations, which showed earlier initiation of the spring blooms in CEs with shallow mixed‐layer depths than in AEs with deeper mixed‐layer depths. The model results supported the hypothesis that mixed‐layer depths in eddies play an important role in the dynamics of the spring bloom initiation. Model results revealed that in AEs convective mixing causes light limitation for phytoplankton growth due to deep winter mixing, and the bloom initiation is delayed until relaxation of turbulent convective mixing. Conversely, in the shallow mixed‐layer CEs, blooms initiate before the end of convective mixing due to early improvement in light conditions following the increase in solar radiation. Furthermore, the model showed that the relaxation in zooplankton grazing for the deep mixing contributed to weak winter phytoplankton accumulation in AE, while winter phytoplankton accumulation was faster in the shallow mixed‐layer CE. Overall, the initiation mechanism and the dynamics of the spring phytoplankton blooms are different for AEs and CEs. Therefore, we suggest that, in many parts of the global ocean, eddies play an important role regulating the dynamics of phytoplankton blooms.

Mechanisms of dissolved and labile particulate iron supply to shelf waters and phytoplankton blooms off South Georgia, Southern Ocean

Abstract. The island of South Georgia is situated in the iron (Fe)-depleted Antarctic Circumpolar Current of the Southern Ocean. Iron emanating from its shelf system fuels large phytoplankton blooms downstream of the island, but the actual supply mechanisms are unclear. To address this, we present an inventory of Fe, manganese (Mn), and aluminium (Al) in shelf sediments, pore waters, and the water column in the vicinity of South Georgia, alongside data on zooplankton-mediated Fe cycling processes, and provide estimates of the relative dissolved Fe (DFe) fluxes from these sources. Seafloor sediments, modified by authigenic Fe precipitation, were the main particulate Fe source to shelf bottom waters as indicated by the similar Fe ∕ Mn and Fe ∕ Al ratios for shelf sediments and suspended particles in the water column. Less than 1 % of the total particulate Fe pool was leachable surface-adsorbed (labile) Fe and therefore potentially available to organisms. Pore waters formed the primary DFe source to shelf bottom waters, supplying 0.1–44 µmol DFe m−2 d−1. However, we estimate that only 0.41±0.26 µmol DFe m−2 d−1 was transferred to the surface mixed layer by vertical diffusive and advective mixing. Other trace metal sources to surface waters included glacial flour released by melting glaciers and via zooplankton egestion and excretion processes. On average 6.5±8.2 µmol m−2 d−1 of labile particulate Fe was supplied to the surface mixed layer via faecal pellets formed by Antarctic krill (Euphausia superba), with a further 1.1±2.2 µmol DFe m−2 d−1 released directly by the krill. The faecal pellets released by krill included seafloor-derived lithogenic and authigenic material and settled algal debris, in addition to freshly ingested suspended phytoplankton cells. The Fe requirement of the phytoplankton blooms ∼ 1250 km downstream of South Georgia was estimated as 0.33±0.11 µmol m−2 d−1, with the DFe supply by horizontal/vertical mixing, deep winter mixing, and aeolian dust estimated as ∼0.12 µmol m−2 d−1. We hypothesize that a substantial contribution of DFe was provided through recycling of biogenically stored Fe following luxury Fe uptake by phytoplankton on the Fe-rich shelf. This process would allow Fe to be retained in the surface mixed layer of waters downstream of South Georgia through continuous recycling and biological uptake, supplying the large downstream phytoplankton blooms.