Reduced nitrite accumulation at the primary nitrite maximum in the cyclonic eddies in the western North Pacific subtropical gyre.

Nitrite, an intermediate product of the oxidation of ammonia to nitrate (nitrification), accumulates in upper oceans, forming the primary nitrite maximum (PNM). Nitrite concentrations in the PNM are relatively low in the western North Pacific subtropical gyre (wNPSG), where eddies are frequent and intense. To explain these low nitrite concentrations, we investigated nitrification in cyclonic eddies in the wNPSG. We detected relatively low half-saturation constants (i.e., high substrate affinities) for ammonia and nitrite oxidation at 150 to 200 meter water depth. Eddy-induced displacement of high-affinity nitrifiers and increased substrate supply enhanced ammonia and nitrite oxidation, depleting ambient substrate concentrations in the euphotic zone. Nitrite oxidation is more strongly enhanced by the cyclonic eddies than ammonia oxidation, reducing concentrations and accelerating the turnover of nitrite in the PNM. These findings demonstrate a spatial decoupling of the two steps of nitrification in response to mesoscale processes and provide insights into physical-ecological controls on the PNM.

Widespread Anthropogenic Nitrogen in Northwestern Pacific Ocean Sediment.

Sediment samples from the East China and Yellow seas collected adjacent to continental China were found to have lower δ15N values (expressed as δ15N = [15N:14Nsample/15N:14Nair - 1] × 1000‰; the sediment 15N:14N ratio relative to the air nitrogen 15N:14N ratio). In contrast, the Arctic sediments from the Chukchi Sea, the sampling region furthest from China, showed higher δ15N values (2-3‰ higher than those representing the East China and the Yellow sea sediments). Across the sites sampled, the levels of sediment δ15N increased with increasing distance from China, which is broadly consistent with the decreasing influence of anthropogenic nitrogen (NANTH) resulting from fossil fuel combustion and fertilizer use. We concluded that, of several processes, the input of NANTH appears to be emerging as a new driver of change in the sediment δ15N value in marginal seas adjacent to China. The present results indicate that the effect of NANTH has extended beyond the ocean water column into the deep sedimentary environment, presumably via biological assimilation of NANTH followed by deposition. Further, the findings indicate that NANTH is taking over from the conventional paradigm of nitrate flux from nitrate-rich deep water as the primary driver of biological export production in this region of the Pacific Ocean.