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author Lehmann, Nadine
Granger, Julie
Kienast, Markus
Brown, Kevin S
Rafter, Patrick A
Martínez-Méndez, Gema
Mohtadi, Mahyar
author_facet Lehmann, Nadine
Granger, Julie
Kienast, Markus
Brown, Kevin S
Rafter, Patrick A
Martínez-Méndez, Gema
Mohtadi, Mahyar
collection Datos científicos de ciencias marinas y ambientales
contents Subsurface waters from both hemispheres converge in the Western Equatorial Pacific (WEP), some of which form the Equatorial Undercurrent (EUC) that influences equatorial Pacific productivity across the basin. Measurements of nitrogen (N) and oxygen (O) isotope ratios in nitrate (d15N-NO3 and d18O-NO3), the isotope ratios of dissolved inorganic carbon (d13C-DIC), and complementary biogeochemical tracers reveal that northern and southern WEP waters have distinct biogeochemical histories. Organic matter remineralization plays an important role in setting the nutrient characteristics on both sides of the WEP. However, remineralization in the northern WEP contributes a larger concentration of the nutrients, consistent with the older "age" of northern thermocline- and intermediate-depth waters. Remineralization introduces a relatively low d15N-NO3 to northern waters, suggesting the production of sinking organic matter by N2 fixation at the surface - consistent with the notion that N2 fixation is quantitatively important in the North Pacific. In contrast, remineralization contributes elevated d15N-NO3 to the southern WEP thermocline, which we hypothesize to derive from the vertical flux of high-d15N material at the southern edge of the equatorial upwelling. This signal potentially masks any imprint of N2 fixation from South Pacific waters. The observations further suggest that the intrusion of high d15N-NO3 and d18O-NO3 waters from the eastern margins is more prominent in the northern than southern WEP. Together, these north-south differences enable the examination of the hemispheric inputs to the EUC, which appear to derive predominantly from southern hemisphere waters.
format Dataset Open Access
id pangaea_https___doi_org_10_1594_PANGAEA_885589
institution PANGAEA
language en
publishDate 2018
publisher PANGAEA
record_format pangaea
spellingShingle Isotopic composition of nitrate and DIC and physical oceanography along the western equatorial Pacific
Lehmann, Nadine
Granger, Julie
Kienast, Markus
Brown, Kevin S
Rafter, Patrick A
Martínez-Méndez, Gema
Mohtadi, Mahyar
Center for Marine Environmental Sciences; CTD/Rosette; CTD-RO; Date/Time of event; Density, mass density; Density, sigma-theta (0); DEPTH, water; Difference; EISPAC/WESTWIND; Elevation of event; Event label; GeoB17401-1; GeoB17403-1; GeoB17404-1; GeoB17407-1; GeoB17412-1; GeoB17413-2; GeoB17417-1; GeoB17420-1; GeoB17424-1; GeoB17426-1; GeoB17428-2; GeoB17432-1; GeoB17433-1; GeoB17434-1; GeoB17436-2; Latitude of event; Longitude of event; MARUM; Nitrate; Oxygen; Oxygen saturation; Phosphate; Pressure, water; Salinity; Silicate; SO228; Sonne; Temperature, water; δ13C, dissolved inorganic carbon; δ13C, dissolved inorganic carbon, standard deviation; δ15N, nitrate; δ15N, nitrate, standard deviation; δ18O, nitrate; δ18O, standard deviation
Subsurface waters from both hemispheres converge in the Western Equatorial Pacific (WEP), some of which form the Equatorial Undercurrent (EUC) that influences equatorial Pacific productivity across the basin. Measurements of nitrogen (N) and oxygen (O) isotope ratios in nitrate (d15N-NO3 and d18O-NO3), the isotope ratios of dissolved inorganic carbon (d13C-DIC), and complementary biogeochemical tracers reveal that northern and southern WEP waters have distinct biogeochemical histories. Organic matter remineralization plays an important role in setting the nutrient characteristics on both sides of the WEP. However, remineralization in the northern WEP contributes a larger concentration of the nutrients, consistent with the older "age" of northern thermocline- and intermediate-depth waters. Remineralization introduces a relatively low d15N-NO3 to northern waters, suggesting the production of sinking organic matter by N2 fixation at the surface - consistent with the notion that N2 fixation is quantitatively important in the North Pacific. In contrast, remineralization contributes elevated d15N-NO3 to the southern WEP thermocline, which we hypothesize to derive from the vertical flux of high-d15N material at the southern edge of the equatorial upwelling. This signal potentially masks any imprint of N2 fixation from South Pacific waters. The observations further suggest that the intrusion of high d15N-NO3 and d18O-NO3 waters from the eastern margins is more prominent in the northern than southern WEP. Together, these north-south differences enable the examination of the hemispheric inputs to the EUC, which appear to derive predominantly from southern hemisphere waters.
title Isotopic composition of nitrate and DIC and physical oceanography along the western equatorial Pacific
topic Center for Marine Environmental Sciences; CTD/Rosette; CTD-RO; Date/Time of event; Density, mass density; Density, sigma-theta (0); DEPTH, water; Difference; EISPAC/WESTWIND; Elevation of event; Event label; GeoB17401-1; GeoB17403-1; GeoB17404-1; GeoB17407-1; GeoB17412-1; GeoB17413-2; GeoB17417-1; GeoB17420-1; GeoB17424-1; GeoB17426-1; GeoB17428-2; GeoB17432-1; GeoB17433-1; GeoB17434-1; GeoB17436-2; Latitude of event; Longitude of event; MARUM; Nitrate; Oxygen; Oxygen saturation; Phosphate; Pressure, water; Salinity; Silicate; SO228; Sonne; Temperature, water; δ13C, dissolved inorganic carbon; δ13C, dissolved inorganic carbon, standard deviation; δ15N, nitrate; δ15N, nitrate, standard deviation; δ18O, nitrate; δ18O, standard deviation
url https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.885589