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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Mar. Sci.
Sec. Marine Pollution
Volume 11 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fmars.2024.1429493

The characteristics of nutrient distribution and influencing factors in the Chukchi Plateau and adjacent waters

Provisionally accepted
Zhixin Ni Zhixin Ni 1*Han Zhang Han Zhang 2*Minxia Zhang Minxia Zhang 3Tuanjie Li Tuanjie Li 1*Shenyong Li Shenyong Li 1*Xin Chen Xin Chen 1*Ling Zhang Ling Zhang 4*Yuan Gao Yuan Gao 2*Changshu Chen Changshu Chen 1*Zhongyuan Wang Zhongyuan Wang 1Wei Deng Wei Deng 1*Haizhou Zhang Haizhou Zhang 5*
  • 1 South China Sea Ecological Center, Ministry of Natural Resources of the People's Republic of China, Guangzhou, China
  • 2 Polar Research Institute of China, Shanghai, Shanghai Municipality, China
  • 3 China National Offshore Oil Corporation (China), Beijing, Beijing Municipality, China
  • 4 Key Laboratory of Tropical Marine Bio-resources and Ecology, South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, China
  • 5 North China Sea Environmental Monitoring Center (SOA), Qingdao, Shandong Province, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    The Arctic is one of the regions under the most dramatic climate change. Global warming has led to elevated freshwater inflow into the western Arctic Ocean and significantly altered the structure and the biogeochemical cycling of nutrients. In this work, inorganic dissolved nutrients in the Chukchi Plateau (CP) and adjacent regions were investigated to further understand their characteristics and influencing factors. Results showed that relatively high nutrient concentrations occurred in the water masses with salinity >32 psu, especially there was a nutrient-rich layer influenced by Winter Pacific Water in the water column (15.10±1.96, 2.23±0.26, and 23.46±6.64 µmol/L for DIN, PO4 3-and Si(OH)4, respectively). Contrarily, lower concentrations occurred in the mixing water of the upper layer (1.76±1.04, 1.15±0.16 and 3.76±2.29 µmol/L for DIN, PO4 3-and Si(OH)4, respectively) with a low DIN/P ratio (1.44±0.59), suggesting DIN has become the potentially biological limiting factor despite limited supplement from freshwater inputs. Furthermore, the freshening and deepening of the upper layer driven by the Beaufort Gyre has hindered the nutrient transport from underlying layer into the upper layer. A maximum chla was found at 36-75 m depth, and the phytoplankton biomass decreased from the western to the eastern CP, accompanied by a decreased contribution of micro-sized chla but an increased contribution of small-sized chla (74.0±0.1%). The resource use efficiency (RUE) of phytoplankton was estimated as (2.3±3.1)×10 -3 , (0.5±0.7)×10 -3 and (3.2±4.6)×10 -3 for P, Si and DIN, respectively, which were primarily influenced by the physicochemical parameter of water, and was also largely regulated by the size structure of phytoplankton.

    Keywords: Chukchi Plateau, freshening, nutrient, Western Canada Basin, water masses, RUE

    Received: 08 May 2024; Accepted: 09 Jul 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Ni, Zhang, Zhang, Li, Li, Chen, Zhang, Gao, Chen, Wang, Deng and Zhang. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence:
    Zhixin Ni, South China Sea Ecological Center, Ministry of Natural Resources of the People's Republic of China, Guangzhou, China
    Han Zhang, Polar Research Institute of China, Shanghai, Shanghai Municipality, China
    Tuanjie Li, South China Sea Ecological Center, Ministry of Natural Resources of the People's Republic of China, Guangzhou, China
    Shenyong Li, South China Sea Ecological Center, Ministry of Natural Resources of the People's Republic of China, Guangzhou, China
    Xin Chen, South China Sea Ecological Center, Ministry of Natural Resources of the People's Republic of China, Guangzhou, China
    Ling Zhang, Key Laboratory of Tropical Marine Bio-resources and Ecology, South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Guangzhou, 510301, Guangdong Province, China
    Yuan Gao, Polar Research Institute of China, Shanghai, Shanghai Municipality, China
    Changshu Chen, South China Sea Ecological Center, Ministry of Natural Resources of the People's Republic of China, Guangzhou, China
    Wei Deng, South China Sea Ecological Center, Ministry of Natural Resources of the People's Republic of China, Guangzhou, China
    Haizhou Zhang, North China Sea Environmental Monitoring Center (SOA), Qingdao, 266033, Shandong Province, China

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