Dissolved Organic Matter in the Upwelling System off Peru: Imprints of Bacterial Activity and Water Mass Characteristics

Microbial degradation of dissolved organic matter (DOM) contributes to the formation and preservation of oxygen minimum zones (OMZs) in the ocean, but information on the spatial distribution and molecular composition of DOM in OMZ regions is scarce. We quantified molecular components of DOM that is, dissolved amino acids (DAA) and dissolved combined carbohydrates (DCCHO), in the upwelling region off Peru. We found the highest concentrations of DCCHO in fully oxygenated surface waters steeply declining at shallow depth. The highest DAA concentrations were observed close to the surface also, but attenuation of DAA concentration over depth was less pronounced. Compositional changes of DCCHO were strongest within more oxygenated waters. Compositional changes of DAA were also evident under suboxic conditions (<5 µmol O2 kg−1) and indicated bacterial peptide degradation. Moreover, specific free amino acids (alanine and threonine) were enhanced within suboxic waters, pointing to a potential production of dissolved organic nitrogen under suboxic conditions. Our results therewith suggest that deoxygenation supports a spatial decoupling of DCCHO and DAA production and degradation dynamics and give new insights to carbon and nitrogen cycling in the OMZ off Peru

Circulation, eddies, oxygen, and nutrient changes in the eastern tropical South Pacific Ocean

A large subsurface oxygen deficiency zone is located in the eastern tropical South Pacific Ocean (ETSP). The large-scale circulation in the eastern equatorial Pacific and off the coast of Peru in November/December 2012 shows the influence of the equatorial current system, the eastern boundary currents, and the northern reaches of the subtropical gyre. In November 2012 the equatorial undercurrent (EUC) is centered at 250 m depth, deeper than in earlier observations. In December 2012, the equatorial water is transported southeastward near the shelf in the Peru–Chile undercurrent (PCUC) with a mean transport of 1.4 Sv. In the oxygen minimum zone (OMZ), the flow is overlaid with strong eddy activity on the poleward side of the OMZ. Floats with parking depth at 400 m show fast westward flow in the mid-depth equatorial channel and sluggish flow in the OMZ. Floats with oxygen sensors clearly show the passage of eddies with oxygen anomalies. The long-term float observations in the upper ocean lead to a net community production estimate at about 18° S of up to 16.7 mmol C m⁻³ yr⁻¹ extrapolated to an annual rate and 7.7 mmol C m⁻³ yr⁻¹ for the time period below the mixed layer. Oxygen differences between repeated ship sections are influenced by the Interdecadal Pacific Oscillation (IPO), by the phase of El Niño, by seasonal changes, and by eddies, and hence have to be interpreted with care. At and south of the Equator the decrease in oxygen in the upper ocean since 1976 is related to an increase in nitrate, phosphate, and in part silicate

Circulation, eddies, oxygen and nutrient changes in the Eastern Tropical South Pacific

A large, subsurface oxygen deficiency zone is located in the eastern tropical South Pacific Ocean (ETSP). The large-scale circulation in the eastern equatorial Pacific and off Peru in November/December 2012 shows the influence of the equatorial current system, the eastern boundary currents, and the northern reaches of the subtropical gyre. In November 2012 the Equatorial Undercurrent is centered at 250 m depth, deeper than in earlier observations. In December 2012 the equatorial water is transported southeastward near the shelf in the Peru-Chile Undercurrent with a mean transport of 1.6 Sv. In the oxygen minimum zone (OMZ) the flow is overlaid with strong eddy activity on the poleward side of the OMZ. Floats with parking depth at 400 m show fast westward flow in the mid-depth equatorial channel and sluggish flow in the OMZ. Floats with oxygen sensors clearly show the passage of eddies with oxygen anomalies. The long-term float observations in the upper ocean lead to a net community production estimate at about 18° S of up to 16.7 mmol C m−3 yr1 extrapolated to an annual rate and 7.7 mmol C m−3 yr−1 for the time period below the mixed layer. Oxygen differences between repeated ship sections are influenced by the Interdecadal Pacific Oscillation, by the phase of El Niño, by seasonal changes, and by eddies and hence have to be interpreted with care. At and south of the equator the decrease in oxygen in the upper ocean since 1976 is related to an increase in nitrate, phosphate, and in part in silicate

Impact of mesoscale eddies on water mass and oxygen distribution in the eastern tropical South Pacific

Abstract. Abstract. The influence of mesoscale eddies on the flow field and the water masses, especially the oxygen distribution of the eastern tropical South Pacific is investigated from a mooring, float and satellite data set. Two anticyclonic (ACE1/2), one mode water (MWE) and one cyclonic eddy (CE) are identified and followed in detail with satellite data on their westward transition with velocities of 3.2 to 6.0 cm/s from their generation region, the shelf of the Peruvian and Chilean upwelling regime, across the Stratus Ocean Reference Station (ORS) (~ 20° S, 85° W) to their decaying region far west in the oligotrophic open ocean. The ORS is located in the transition zone between the oxygen minimum zone and the well-oxygenated South Pacific subtropical gyre. Velocity, hydrographic, and oxygen measurements at the mooring show the impact of eddies on the weak flow region of the eastern tropical South Pacific. Strong anomalies are related to the passage of eddies and are not associated to a seasonal signal in the open ocean. The mass transport of the four observed eddies across 85° W is between 1.1 and 1.8 Sv. The eddy type dependent available heat, salt and oxygen anomalies are 7.6 × 1018 J (ACE), 0.8 × 1018 J (MWE), −9.4 × 1018 J (CE) for heat, 23.9 × 1010 kg (ACE2), −3.6 × 1010 kg (MWE), −42.8 × 1010 kg (CE) for salt and −3.6 × 1016 μmol (ACE2), −3.5 × 1016 μmol (MWE), −6.5 × 1016 μmol (CE) for oxygen showing an imbalance between anticyclones and cyclones for heat and salt transports probably due to seasonal variability of water mass properties in the formation region of the eddies. Heat, salt and oxygen fluxes out of the coastal region across the ORS region in the oligotrophic open South Pacific are estimated based on these eddy anomalies and on eddy statistics (gained out of 23 years of satellite data). Furthermore, four profiling floats were trapped in the ACE2 during its westward propagation between the formation region and the open ocean, which allows conclusions on the isolation of water mass properties and the lateral mixing with time between the core of the eddy and the surrounding water showing the strongest lateral mixing between the seasonal thermocline and the eddy core during the first half of the lifetime. </jats:p