This chapter contains sections titled: Introduction Some fundamental oceanographic properties of seawater Oceanic circulation Tracers An ocean model Characterizing oceanic water-column sections Water-column parameters: summary References
This chapter contains sections titled: The nutrients and primary production in seawater The distribution of nutrients in the deep oceans Dissolved oxygen in seawater Ocean carbon cycle Dissolved carbon dioxide in seawater: dissolved inorganic carbon and the dissolved CO2 cycle References
Converting measured concentrations into fluxes and using estimates of biological productivity in the coastal waters of the eastern Atlantic Ocean enables us to determine the role of the atmosphere as a source of biologically essential species, including nitrate and ammonium, to the marine biota. To understand the effects of the atmosphere as a source of nitrogen capable of promoting new production, we need to know both the seasonality of the input as well as the effects of extreme high deposition events which, while small in overall annual budget terms, maybe able to extend, or even promote, phytoplankton growth under nutrient depleted summer conditions. Aerosols and rainwater were collected at both Mace Head and at sea aboard RRS Challenger. Temporal patterns have been interpreted using airmass back trajectories which give the predicted air path prior to arrival at the sampling site. Low levels of both nitrate and ammonium are seen associated with marine westerly flow across the Atlantic and northerly air originating in the Arctic region. As expected, marine derived sodium, chloride, magnesium and seasalt sulphate are high during these periods. High concentration nitrate and ammonium events are seen associated with south-easterly flow where the airmass passes over the UK and northern Europe prior to arrival on the west coast of Ireland. In the polluted atmosphere, nitrate exists as nitric acid and as fine mode (μ1 ¼m diameter) ammonium nitrate aerosol. In the coastal zone, nitric acid reacts with coarse mode seasalt aerosols to form coarse mode (>1 μm diameter) sodium nitrate: HNO3 (g) + NaCl(s) → NaNO3(s) + HCl(g). This seasalt displacement reaction not only enhances dry nitrate deposition through more efficient gravitational settling of large particles, but also increases the efficiency of precipitational scavenging via inertial impaction. By looking at the size distribution of nitrate, we can see evidence for the seasalt displacement reaction. Under the polluted south-easterly flow, ~40-60% of the nitrate occurs in the coarse mode fraction. Under clean marine conditions, the seasalt displacement reaction results in almost complete conversion of nitrate from the fine to the coarse aerosol mode. By converting measured wet and dry nitrate, ammonium and organic nitrogen concentrations into fluxes and comparing the data with estimates of biological productivity in the surface waters, our data suggest that ˜30% of new production in eastern Atlantic surface waters off Ireland can be supported by atmospheric inputs in May 1997 and that most of the input occurs during short lived, high-concentration, south-easterly transport events.
This chapter contains sections titled: The measurement and collection of oceanic total suspended matter The distribution of total suspended matter in the oceans The composition of oceanic total suspended matter Total-suspended-matter fluxes in the oceans Down-column changes in the composition of oceanic TSM and the three-layer distribution model Particulate material in the oceans: summary References
Abstract An ocean iodine cycling model is presented, which predicts upper ocean iodine speciation. The model comprises a three‐layer advective and diffusive ocean circulation model of the upper ocean and an iodine cycling model embedded within this circulation. The two primary reservoirs of iodine are represented, iodide and iodate. Iodate is reduced to iodide in the mixed layer in association with primary production, linked by an iodine to carbon (I:C) ratio. A satisfactory model fit with observations cannot be obtained with a globally constant I:C ratio, and the best fit is obtained when the I:C ratio is dependent on sea surface temperature, increasing at low temperatures. Comparisons with observed iodide distributions show that the best model fit is obtained when oxidation of iodide back to iodate is associated with mixed layer nitrification. Sensitivity tests, where model parameters and processes are perturbed, reveal that primary productivity, mixed layer depth, oxidation, advection, surface freshwater flux, and the I:C ratio all have a role in determining surface iodide concentrations, and the timescale of iodide in the mixed layer is sufficiently long for nonlocal processes to be important. Comparisons of the modeled iodide surface field with parameterizations by other authors show good agreement in regions where observations exist but significant differences in regions without observations. This raises the question of whether the existing parameterizations are capturing the full range of processes involved in determining surface iodide and shows the urgent need for observations in regions where there are currently none.
Key messages: 1.1 The process of ocean acidification is now relatively well-documented at the global scale as a long-term trend in the open ocean. However, short-term and spatial variability can be high. 1.2 New datasets made available since Charting Progress 2 make it possible to greatly improve the characterisation of CO2 and ocean acidification in UK waters. 3.1 Recent UK cruise data contribute to large gaps in national and global datasets. 3.2 The new UK measurements confirm that pH is highly variable, therefore it is important to measure consistently to determine any long term trends. 3.3 Over the past 30 years, North Sea pH has decreased at 0.0035±0.0014 pH units per year. 3.4 Upper ocean pH values are highest in spring, lowest in autumn. These changes reflect the seasonal cycles in photosynthesis, respiration (decomposition) and water mixing. 3.5 Carbonate saturation states are minimal in the winter, and lower in 7 more northerly, colder waters. This temperature-dependence could have implications for future warming of the seas. 3.6 Over the annual cycle, North-west European seas are net sinks of CO2. However, during late summer to autumn months, some coastal waters may be significant sources. 3.7 In seasonally-stratified waters, sea-floor organisms naturally experience lower pH and saturation states; they may therefore be more vulnerable to threshold changes. 3.8 Large pH changes (0.5 - 1.0 units) can occur in the top 1 cm of sediment; however, such effects are not well-documented. 3.9 A coupled forecast model estimates the decrease in pH trend within the North Sea to be -0.0036±0.00034 pH units per year, under a high greenhouse gas emissions scenario (RCP 8.5). 3.10 Seasonal estimates from the forecast model demonstrate areas of the North Sea that are particularly vulnerable to aragonite undersaturation.
'%3e%3cpath fill='%23012169' d='M0 0v30h60V0z'/%3e%3cpath stroke='%23fff' stroke-width='6' d='m0 0 60 30m0-30L0 30'/%3e%3cpath stroke='%23C8102E' stroke-width='4' d='m0 0 60 30m0-30L0 30' clip-path='url(%23b)'/%3e%3cpath stroke='%23fff' stroke-width='10' d='M30 0v30M0 15h60'/%3e%3cpath stroke='%23C8102E' stroke-width='6' d='M30 0v30M0 15h60'/%3e%3c/g%3e%3c/svg%3e)
