Dataset Information

Pervasive iron limitation at subsurface chlorophyll maxima of the California Current.

ABSTRACT: Subsurface chlorophyll maximum layers (SCMLs) are nearly ubiquitous in stratified water columns and exist at horizontal scales ranging from the submesoscale to the extent of oligotrophic gyres. These layers of heightened chlorophyll and/or phytoplankton concentrations are generally thought to be a consequence of a balance between light energy from above and a limiting nutrient flux from below, typically nitrate (NO3). Here we present multiple lines of evidence demonstrating that iron (Fe) limits or with light colimits phytoplankton communities in SCMLs along a primary productivity gradient from coastal to oligotrophic offshore waters in the southern California Current ecosystem. SCML phytoplankton responded markedly to added Fe or Fe/light in experimental incubations and transcripts of diatom and picoeukaryote Fe stress genes were strikingly abundant in SCML metatranscriptomes. Using a biogeochemical proxy with data from a 40-y time series, we find that diatoms growing in California Current SCMLs are persistently Fe deficient during the spring and summer growing season. We also find that the spatial extent of Fe deficiency within California Current SCMLs has significantly increased over the last 25 y in line with a regional climate index. Finally, we show that diatom Fe deficiency may be common in the subsurface of major upwelling zones worldwide. Our results have important implications for our understanding of the biogeochemical consequences of marine SCML formation and maintenance.

SUBMITTER: Hogle SL

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6310781 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Pervasive iron limitation at subsurface chlorophyll maxima of the California Current.

Hogle Shane L SL Dupont Christopher L CL Hopkinson Brian M BM King Andrew L AL Buck Kristen N KN Roe Kelly L KL Stuart Rhona K RK Allen Andrew E AE Mann Elizabeth L EL Johnson Zackary I ZI Barbeau Katherine A KA

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 20181210 52

Subsurface chlorophyll maximum layers (SCMLs) are nearly ubiquitous in stratified water columns and exist at horizontal scales ranging from the submesoscale to the extent of oligotrophic gyres. These layers of heightened chlorophyll and/or phytoplankton concentrations are generally thought to be a consequence of a balance between light energy from above and a limiting nutrient flux from below, typically nitrate (NO<sub>3</sub>). Here we present multiple lines of evidence demonstrating that iron ...[more]

PMID: 30530699

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Project description:Based on the biological, nutrients and hydrological data in August 2018, the vertical chlorophyll a (Chl-a) concentration profiles and the relationship among surface Chl-a (Chl-a(0)) concentration, maximum Chl-a (Chl-a(m)) concentration and depth-integrated Chl-a (Chl-a(int)) concentration were studied in the Northern South China Sea (NSCS). The results indicate that there are 4 different patterns in the vertical Chl-a profiles in the NSCS: (i) Chl-a increases with depth from the surface (e.g. station 1); (ii) there exists subsurface chlorophyll maximum (SCM), with low Chl-a on the surface and at the bottom layers respectively (e.g. station 5); (iii) there is no SCM, only with high Chl-a on the surface and in the bottom (e.g. station 14); (iv) the 4th pattern is similar to (ii), with the higher Chl-a(0) (e.g. station 28). The SCM is observed at 95% stations in the NSCS and is not detected only at a few stations near the Pearl River (PR) estuary. These patterns are mainly regulated by alternative limitation of nutrients and light from the surface to the bottom of euphotic layer. For the pattern 1 (e.g. station 1), light is not a limited factor, and Chl-a and nutrients increase with depth. The pattern 2 (e.g. station 5) exists with the limitation of surface nutrients in offshore region. The nutrients increases with depth and the nutrients limitation turns to light limitation gradually from surface to bottom. And the SCM appears in the layer which need of the light and nutrients is roughly equivalent. Compared with that the offshore SCM, the nutrients for the pattern 3 (e.g. station 14) are rich on the surface with nutrients concentration and light irradiance. Therefore, it is seawater intrusion from the bottom that brings the higher nutrients concentration. The reason for the high Chl-a(0) on the pattern 4 (e.g. station 28) is terrestrial matter from the nearshore. High correlation (R2 = 0.5206, p<0.01) between the depth of SCM (Depth(m)) and Chl-a(0) indicates that the SCM depth is regulated by light masking effect of surface phytoplankton, generally with shallow nutriclines and fast light attenuation for high Chl-a(0) and vice versa low Chl-a(0) brings deeper nutriclines and light attenuate slowly with less shading effect. Further research results shows that Chl-a(int) and Chl-a(m) have a good correlation(R2 = 0.6397, p<0.01). However, the correlation between Chl-a(int) and Chl-a(0) is relative weak (R2 = 0.3202, p<0.01). That could be attributed to the availability of nutrients playing an important role in growth of phytoplankton, with high nutrients at upper euphotic layers for the stations with high Chl-a(0).

Dataset Information

Pervasive iron limitation at subsurface chlorophyll maxima of the California Current.

Publications

Pervasive iron limitation at subsurface chlorophyll maxima of the California Current.

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