Description: Salinity, temperature, DIC , TAlk and dissolved oxygen dataset from "The Southeast China Sea- Indonesian seas Transport/Exchange (SITE) and Dynamics of Sunda and Lombok Straits, and Their Impacts on Seasonal Fish Migration” program.

Description: We extended the 224Ra/228Th disequilibrium approach to examine benthic fluxes of a variety of metals, ranging from alkaline earth (Ba) to redox sensitive elements (U, Mn, and Fe), into the Pearl River Estuary (PRE), China. Depth profiles of 224Ra and 228Th in bulk sediment, as well as dissolved 224Ra and trace metals in porewater were measured along a transect within the estuary in July 2015. Significant deficit of 224Ra relative to 228Th was commonly observed in the upper 0–15 cm sediment. We took advantage of the 224Ra/228Th disequilibrium in the bottom sediments to construct a full mass balance of 224Ra in the overlying water column. We demonstrated that porewater exchange (PEX) processes with scale lengths of several centimeters are the predominant mechanism for solute transport between sediments and overlying waters in the PRE. In contrast, deep porewater flow or submarine groundwater discharge (SGD) with scale lengths of “meters to kilometers” are a negligible component in the water column budget of 224Ra. Strong correlations between dissolved 224Ra and trace metals (Ba, U, Mn, and Fe) in porewater were frequently observed in the study region. This likely reflects a fact that geochemical cycling of alkaline earth elements (e.g., Ra and Ba) and redox sensitive elements (like U) in sediments was closely linked to diagenetic reactions of manganese and iron oxides. This linkage makes it possible to quantify benthic fluxes of alkaline earth and redox sensitive metals using 224Ra/228Th disequilibrium in sediments. Benthic Ba fluxes based on 224Ra/228Th disequilibrium were found to vary from virtually nil to 320 μmol m−2 d−1 within the PRE. The highest flux was identified at salinity = 3.0–7.8 and could lead to an elevation of 54 nmol Ba l−1 in the water column, which well reproduced the Ba excess frequently observed in the low salinity domain of the estuary. Benthic fluxes of redox sensitive U ranged from −0.42 (“−” denotes flux into sediment) to 1.3 μmol m−2 d−1. This could only cause a change of −0.1 to 0.3 nmol U l−1 in the water column, which is very small when compared to the U concentration of 13–14 nmol l−1 in the northern South China Sea. We therefore predicted that water column U in the PRE must behave conservatively during mixing. This prediction is consistent with historical measurements of water column U concentration within the PRE. Large benthic fluxes of Mn and Fe were generally acquired with the 224Ra/228Th disequilibrium method. They varied from virtually nil up to 97 mmol m−2 d−1, and from zero to 27 mmol m−2 d−1, respectively. These estimates are 1–2 orders of magnitude higher than historical measurements based on the traditional incubation method in other coastal settings. Nonetheless, they are in agreement with a simple consideration of Mn and Fe mass balances in the sediment. An important implication of this study is that the role of coastal sediments in estuarine geochemistry of trace metals may need to be re-evaluated.

Description: Nutrients limiting phytoplankton growth in the ocean are a critical control on ocean productivity and can underpin predicted responses to climate change. The extensive western subtropical North Pacific is assumed to be under strong nitrogen limitation, but this is not well supported by experimental evidence. Here, we report the results of 14 factorial nitrogen–phosphorus–iron addition experiments through the Philippine Sea, which demonstrate a gradient from nitrogen limitation in the north to nitrogen–iron co‐limitation in the south. While nitrogen limited sites responded weakly to nutrient supply, co‐limited sites bloomed with up to ~60‐fold increases in chlorophyll a biomass that was dominated by initially undetectable diatoms. The transition in limiting nutrients and phytoplankton growth capacity was driven by a gradient in deep water nutrient supply, which was undetectable in surface concentration fields. We hypothesize that this large‐scale phytoplankton response gradient is both climate sensitive and potentially important for regulating the distribution of predatory fish.

Description: National Natural Science Foundation of China http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100001809

Description: Highlights • We present a Ba isotope data set of seawater, river waters and biogenic particles. • Ba isotope signatures of upper ocean waters are heavier than river and deep waters. • Adsorption of lighter Ba isotopes on biogenic particles induces the fractionation. • Ba isotopes trace land–sea interactions and ocean mixing processes. • Decoupling of Ba from major nutrients confirms Ba to be a biointermediate element. Abstract The distribution of barium (Ba) concentrations in seawater resembles that of nutrients and Ba has been widely used as a proxy of paleoproductivity. However, the exact mechanisms controlling the nutrient-like behavior, and thus the fundamentals of Ba chemistry in the ocean, have not been fully resolved. Here we present a set of full water column dissolved Ba (DBa) isotope (δ137BaDBa) profiles from the South China Sea and the East China Sea that receives large freshwater inputs from the Changjiang (Yangtze River). We find pronounced and systematic horizontal and depth dependent δ137BaDBa gradients. Beyond the river influence characterized by generally light signatures (0.0 to +0.3‰+0.3‰), the δ137BaDBa values in the upper water column are significantly higher (+0.9‰+0.9‰) than those in the deep waters (+0.5‰+0.5‰). Moreover, δ137BaDBa signatures are essentially constant in the entire upper 100 m, in which dissolved silicon isotopes are fractionated during diatom growth resulting in the heaviest isotopic compositions in the very surface waters. Combined with the decoupling of DBa concentrations and δ137BaDBa from the concentrations of nitrate and phosphate this implies that the apparent nutrient-like fractionation of Ba isotopes in seawater is primarily induced by preferential adsorption of the lighter isotopes onto biogenic particles rather than by biological utilization. The subsurface δ137BaDBa distribution is dominated by water mass mixing. The application of stable Ba isotopes as a proxy for nutrient cycling should therefore be considered with caution and both biological and physical processes need to be considered. Clearly, however, Ba isotopes show great potential as a new tracer for land–sea interactions and ocean mixing processes.

Description: The stable silicon isotopic composition (δ30Si) of waters and diatoms has increasingly been used to investigate the biogeochemical cycling of Si in the major ocean basins. Here we present the first Si isotope data set from the northern South China Sea (NSCS), a large marginal sea system in the western North Pacific to examine sources and utilization of silicic acid (Si(OH)4). During two cruises in July–August 2009 (summer) and January 2010 (winter), samples for isotope measurements of dissolved Si(OH)4 (δ30SiSi(OH)4) and of biogenic silica (δ30SiBSi) in suspended particles were collected along a transect perpendicular to the coast from the inner shelf to the deep-water slope, as well as at the South East Asian Time-series Study (SEATS) station located in the NSCS basin. Surface δ30SiSi(OH)4 generally increased from values ∼+2.3‰ on the inner shelf to ∼+2.8‰ above the deep basin, suggesting an increasing utilization of dissolved Si(OH)4 reflecting the transition from eutrophic to oligotrophic conditions. The δ30SiBSi values were systematically lower than the corresponding δ30SiSi(OH)4 in the euphotic zone (above 100 m) on the shelf and slope. In contrast at station SEATS in the NSCS basin, δ30SiBSi signatures in both seasons were within error equal to δ30SiSi(OH)4 in the surface mixed layer (above 50 m) and δ30SiBSi in waters below were significantly higher than the corresponding δ30SiSi(OH)4. By comparing the field data with the Si isotope fractionation revealed by the Rayleigh or the steady state models, we demonstrate the existence of variable Si(OH)4 origins in different areas of the NSCS. Surface waters on the inner shelf were largely fed by nutrients from the Pearl River input. While the primary source of Si(OH)4 for the euphotic zone on the outer shelf and slope was upwelling or vertical mixing from underlying waters, the Si(OH)4 in the surface mixed layer of the NSCS basin might have originated from horizontal mixing with other highly fractionated surface waters. As a consequence, the Si isotope dynamics in the NSCS are largely controlled by variable biological fractionation of Si in waters from different sources with different initial Si isotopic compositions rather than any single source water.

Description: OS51C-1004 Dissolved radiogenic Nd isotopes (εNd), rare earth element (REE), Ba, and nutrient concentrations combined with oxygen isotopes retrieved along a section between Spitsbergen and Greenland at approximately 79°N during the ARK XXVII/1 cruise in 2012 were measured to characterize the origin and mixing of the water masses in the Fram Strait. Deep waters below 500 m are nearly constant in Nd concentration (CNd) around 16 pmol/kg and εNd signatures range from -9.5±0.2 to -10.9±0.2. The heavy REE to light REE ratio (HREE/LREE) ranges from 4 to 5. Ba concentrations range from 47 to 58 nmol/kg, increasing slightly with depth. These homogeneous signatures do not allow identification of distinct deep water masses. The upper 500 m of the water column close to the Western Svalbard margin including the shelf is relatively warm and saline (T ≤ 5.5°C, S ≤ 35.1) and shares characteristics of Atlantic Water (AW) including low CNd (~15 pmol/kg) and relatively unradiogenic εNd signatures (-12.2±0.2). This water is also characterized by HREE/LREE around 4 and CBa around 50 nmol/kg. Low salinity surface waters on the East Greenland shelf have unradiogenic εNd signatures similar to AW (-12.4±0.3) but in contrast to AW high CNd of up to 37 pmol/kg. At the same time the HREE/LREE ratio is relatively low (~3.5) and CBa reaches 73 nmol/kg. This suggests a significant freshwater contribution either from the McKenzie or the Lena rivers. Eastwards of these freshwater-influenced waters (at ~5°W), admixture of a Pacific component characterized by a more radiogenic εNd (-8.8±0.2) and high nutrient concentrations outcropping at surface was detected. Waters of the same origin are present on the East Greenland shelf at about 150 m depth. Based on these data we use mass balance calculations to determine the fractions of sea ice meltwater, Eurasian run-off, North American run-off, and Arctic seawater and compare these results with our εNd and REE data.

Description: We present the first set of dissolved silicon isotope data in seawater (delta Si-30(Si(OH)4)) from the East China Sea, a large and productive marginal sea significantly influenced by the Kuroshio Current and freshwater inputs from the Changjiang (Yangtze River). In summer (August 2009), the lowest surface delta Si-30(Si(OH)4) signatures of +2.1 parts per thousand corresponding to the highest Si(OH)(4) concentrations (similar to 30.0 mu mol L-1) were observed nearshore in Changjiang Diluted Water. During advection on the East China Sea inner shelf, surface delta Si-30(Si(OH)4) increased rapidly to +3.2 parts per thousand while Si(OH)(4) became depleted, indicating increasing biological utilization of the Si(OH)(4) originating from the Changjiang Diluted Water. This is also reflected in the water column profiles characterized by a general decrease of delta Si-30(Si(OH)4) and an increase of Si(OH)(4) with depth on the East China Sea mid-shelf and slope. In winter (December 2009-January 2010), however, the delta Si-30(Si(OH)4) was nearly constant at +1.9 parts per thousand throughout the water column on the East China Sea shelf beyond the nearshore, which was a consequence of enhanced vertical mixing of the Kuroshio subsurface water. Horizontal admixture of Kuroshio surface water, which is highly fractionated in Si isotopes, was observed only beyond the shelf break. Significant seasonal differences in delta Si-30(Si(OH)4) were detected in the surface waters beyond the Changjiang Diluted Water-influenced region on the East China Sea shelf, where the winter values were similar to 1.0 parts per thousand lower than those in summer, despite the same primary Si(OH)(4) supply from the Kuroshio subsurface water during both seasons. This demonstrates significantly higher biological consumption and utilization of Si(OH)(4) in summer than in winter.

Description: Abstract ID: 10110 PosterID: B1276 We measured for the first time seawater δ30SiSi(OH)4 and δ30SiBSi to examine sources and utilization of Si(OH)4 in the northern South China Sea (NSCS). δ30SiBSi values were systematically lower than the correspondingδ30SiSi(OH)4 in the euphotic zone (〈 100 m) on the shelf and slope. In contrast, δ30SiBSi were equal to δ30SiSi(OH)4 in the surface mixed layer (〈 50 m) of the deep basin and δ30SiBSi in waters below were significantly higher than the corresponding δ30SiSi(OH)4. By comparing the field data with calculation according to Rayleigh or steady state models, we demonstrated surface waters on the inner shelf were largely fed by nutrients from the Pearl River input. While the primary Si(OH)4 source for the euphotic zone on the outer shelf and slope was upwelling or mixing from underlying waters, the Si(OH)4 in the surface mixed layer of the NSCS basin might originate from horizontal mixing with highly fractionated waters. As a consequence, the Si isotope dynamics in the NSCS are largely modulated by variable biological fractionation of Si derived from different mixing-induced initial conditions rather than any single source water.