Using triple oxygen isotopes and oxygen-argon ratio to quantify ecosystem production in the mixed layer of northern South China Sea slope region

Zhuoyi Zhu; Jun Wang; Guiling Zhang; Sumei Liu; Shan Zheng; Xiaoxia Sun; Dongfeng Xu; Meng Zhou

doi:10.1007/s13131-021-1846-7

Volume 40 Issue 6

Jun. 2021

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Article Navigation > Acta Oceanologica Sinica > 2021 > 40(6): 1-15

Xing Runan, Ma Liming, Qiao Ran, Wang Zhanggui. Responses of CO2 in surface water in subtropical West Pacific to El Niño event[J]. Acta Oceanologica Sinica, 2001, (1): 39-50.

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Zhuoyi Zhu, Jun Wang, Guiling Zhang, Sumei Liu, Shan Zheng, Xiaoxia Sun, Dongfeng Xu, Meng Zhou. Using triple oxygen isotopes and oxygen-argon ratio to quantify ecosystem production in the mixed layer of northern South China Sea slope region[J]. Acta Oceanologica Sinica, 2021, 40(6): 1-15. doi: 10.1007/s13131-021-1846-7

Xing Runan, Ma Liming, Qiao Ran, Wang Zhanggui. Responses of CO2 in surface water in subtropical West Pacific to El Niño event[J]. Acta Oceanologica Sinica, 2001, (1): 39-50.

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Using triple oxygen isotopes and oxygen-argon ratio to quantify ecosystem production in the mixed layer of northern South China Sea slope region

doi: 10.1007/s13131-021-1846-7

Zhuoyi Zhu^{1, 2
,
,},
Jun Wang³,
Guiling Zhang^{4, 5},
Sumei Liu^{4, 5},
Shan Zheng⁶,
Xiaoxia Sun⁶,
Dongfeng Xu³,
Meng Zhou¹

1.
School of Oceanography, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200030, China
2.
State Key Laboratory of Estuarine and Coastal Research, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200241, China
3.
State Key Laboratory of Satellite Ocean Environment Dynamics, Second Institute of Oceanography, Ministry of Natural Resources, Hangzhou 310012, China
4.
Key Laboratory of Marine Chemistry Theory and Technology of Ministry of Education, Ocean University of China, Qingdao 266100, China
5.
Laboratory for Marine Ecology and Environmental Science, Pilot National Laboratory for Marine Science and Technology (Qingdao), Qingdao 266237, China
6.
Jiaozhou Bay National Marine Ecosystem Research Station, Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Qingdao 266071, China

Funds: The National Key Research and Development Programs of China of the Ministry of Science and Technology under contract Nos 2020YFA0608301 and 2014CB441503; the National Natural Science Foundation of China under contract Nos 41976042 and 41776122; the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities; the Taishan Scholars Program of Shandong Province, China.

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Corresponding author: E-mail: zhu.zhuoyi@sjtu.edu.cn
Received Date: 2020-11-04
Accepted Date: 2021-02-19

Available Online: 2021-05-08

Publish Date: 2021-06-01

Abstract

Abstract

Quantifying the gross and net production is an essential component of carbon cycling and marine ecosystem studies. Triple oxygen isotope measurements and the O₂/Ar ratio are powerful indices in quantifying the gross primary production and net community production of the mixed layer zone, respectively. Although there is a substantial advantage in refining the gas exchange term and water column vertical mixing calibration, application of mixed layer depth history to the gas exchange term and its contribution to reducing indices error are unclear. Therefore, two cruises were conducted in the slope regions of the northern South China Sea in October 2014 (autumn) and June 2015 (spring). Discrete water samples at Station L07 in the upper 150 m depth were collected for the determination of δ¹⁷O, δ¹⁸O, and the O₂/Ar ratio of dissolved gases. Gross oxygen production (GOP) was estimated using the triple oxygen isotopes of the dissolved O₂, and net oxygen production (NOP) was calculated using O₂/Ar ratio and O₂ concentration. The vertical mixing effect in NOP was calibrated via a N₂O based approach. GOP for autumn and spring was (169±23) mmol/(m²·d) (by O₂) and (189±26) mmol/(m²·d) (by O₂), respectively. While NOP was 1.5 mmol/(m²·d) (by O₂) in autumn and 8.2 mmol/(m²·d) (by O₂) in spring. Application of mixed layer depth history in the gas flux parametrization reduced up to 9.5% error in the GOP and NOP estimations. A comparison with an independent O₂ budget calculation in the diel observation indicated a 26% overestimation in the current GOP, likely due to the vertical mixing effect. Both GOP and NOP in June were higher than those in October. Potential explanations for this include the occurrence of an eddy process in June, which may have exerted a submesoscale upwelling at the sampling station, and also the markedly higher terrestrial impact in June.
- gross primary production,
- net community production,
- triple oxygen isotopes,
- O₂/Ar,
- air-sea gas flux,
- piston velocity

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