Atsushi Ooki

Size dependence of iron solubility of Asian mineral dust particles

[1] Asian mineral dust was sampled at Hokkaido, northern Japan, in spring 2004 and 2006. Iron solubility of the bulk aerosol, the size-segregated aerosol (0.45 4.7 μm). We suggest that an iron solubility of around 0.4% is typical for Asian mineral dust of large particles transported to Hokkaido. In the high-nutrient low-chlorophyll region of the western subarctic North Pacific near the Asian continent, where the mineral dust deposition is dominated by large particles, the iron solubility of the mineral dust entering the ocean is around 0.4%.

Equilibrator Inlet-Proton Transfer Reaction-Mass Spectrometry (EI-PTR-MS) for Sensitive, High-Resolution Measurement of Dimethyl Sulfide Dissolved in Seawater

We developed an equilibrator inlet-proton transfer reaction-mass spectrometry (EI-PTR-MS) method for fast detection of dimethyl sulfide (DMS) dissolved in seawater. Dissolved DMS extracted by bubbling pure nitrogen through the sample was continuously directed to the PTR-MS instrument. The equilibration of DMS between seawater and the carrier gas, and the response time of the system, were evaluated in the laboratory. DMS reached equilibrium with an overall response time of 1 min. The detection limit (50 pmol L(-1) at 5 s integration) was sufficient for detection of DMS concentrations in the open ocean. The EI-PTR-MS instrument was deployed during a research cruise in the western North Pacific Ocean. Comparison of the EI-PTR-MS results with results obtained by means of membrane tube equilibrator-gas chromatography/mass spectrometry agreed reasonably well on average (R(2) = 0.99). EI-PTR-MS captured temporal variations of dissolved DMS concentrations, including elevated peaks associated with patches of high biogenic activity. These results demonstrate that the EI-PTR-MS technique was effective for highly time-resolved measurements of DMS in the open ocean. Further measurements will improve our understanding of the biogeochemical mechanisms of the production, consumption, and distribution of DMS on the ocean surface and, hence, the air-sea flux of DMS, which is a climatically important species.

Laterally spreading iron, humic-like dissolved organic matter and nutrients in cold, dense subsurface water of the Arctic Ocean

The location and magnitude of oceanic iron sources remain uncertain owing to a scarcity of data, particularly in the Arctic Ocean. The formation of cold, dense water in the subsurface layer of the western Arctic Ocean is a key process in the lateral transport of iron, macronutrients, and other chemical constituents. Here, we present iron, humic-like fluorescent dissolved organic matter, and nutrient concentration data in waters above the continental slope and shelf and along two transects across the shelf–basin interface in the western Arctic Ocean. We detected high concentrations in shelf bottom waters and in a plume that extended in the subsurface cold dense water of the halocline layer in slope and basin regions. At σθ = 26.5, dissolved Fe, humic-like fluorescence intensity, and nutrient maxima coincided with N* minima (large negative values of N* indicate significant denitrification within shelf sediments). These results suggest that these constituents are supplied from the shelf sediments and then transported laterally to basin regions. Humic dissolved organic matter probably plays the most important role in the subsurface maxima and lateral transport of dissolved Fe in the halocline layer as natural Fe-binding organic ligand.

A global-scale map of isoprene and volatile organic iodine in surface seawater of the Arctic, Northwest Pacific, Indian, and Southern Oceans

Isoprene (C5H8) and three volatile organic iodine compounds (VOIs: CH3I, C2H5I, and CH2ClI) in surface seawater were measured in the western Arctic, Northwest Pacific, Indian, and Southern Oceans during the period 2008–2012. These compounds are believed to play an important role in the marine atmospheric chemistry after their emission. The measurements were performed with high time-resolution (1–6 h intervals) using an online equilibrator gas chromatography mass spectrometer. C5H8 was most abundant in high-productivity transitional waters and eutrophic tropical waters. The chlorophyll-a normalized production rates of C5H8 were high in the warm subtropical and tropical waters, suggesting the existence of a high emitter of C5H8 in the biological community of the warm waters. High concentrations of the three VOIs in highly productive transitional water were attributed to biological productions. For CH3I, the highest concentrations were widely distributed in the basin area of the oligotrophic subtropical NW Pacific, probably due to photochemical production and/or high emission rates from phytoplankton. In contrast, the lowest concentrations of C2H5I in subtropical waters were attributed to photochemical removal. Enhancement of CH2ClI concentrations in the shelf-slope areas of the Chukchi Sea and the transitional waters of the NW Pacific in winter suggested that vertical mixing with subsurface waters by regional upwelling or winter cooling acts to increase the CH2ClI concentrations in surface layer. Sea-air flux calculations revealed that the fluxes of CH2ClI were the highest among the three VOIs in shelf-slope areas; the CH3I flux was highest in basin areas.

The conservative behavior of dissolved organic carbon in surface waters of the southern Chukchi Sea, Arctic Ocean, during early summer

The spatial distribution of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) concentrations and the optical properties of dissolved organic matter (DOM) determined by ultraviolet-visible absorbance and fluorescence spectroscopy were measured in surface waters of the southern Chukchi Sea, western Arctic Ocean, during the early summer of 2013. Neither the DOC concentration nor the optical parameters of the DOM correlated with salinity. Principal component analysis using the DOM optical parameters clearly separated the DOM sources. A significant linear relationship was evident between the DOC and the principal component score for specific water masses, indicating that a high DOC level was related to a terrigenous source, whereas a low DOC level was related to a marine source. Relationships between the DOC and the principal component scores of the surface waters of the southern Chukchi Sea implied that the major factor controlling the distribution of DOC concentrations was the mixing of plural water masses rather than local production and degradation.

Bromoform concentrations in slush-layer water in Antarctic fast ice

Abstract Bromoform concentrations in water of the slush layer that developed at the interface between snow and sea ice were measured during the seasonal warming in Lützow-Holm Bay, East Antarctica. Mean bromoform concentration was 5.5 ± 2.4 pmol l-1, which was lower than that of the under-ice water (10.9 ± 3.5 pmol l-1). Temporal decrease in bromoform concentrations and salinity with increasing temperature of the slush water suggest that the bromoform concentrations were reduced through dilution with meltwater input from the upper surface of sea ice. In contrast, bromoform concentrations in the under-ice water increased during this period while the salinity of the under-ice water decreased. It is speculated that the sea ice meltwater input contained high bromoform concentrations from the brine channels within the sea ice and from the bottom of the ice that were contributed to the increased bromoform concentrations in the under-ice water.