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Quantifying subtropical North Pacific gyre mixed layer primary productivity from Seaglider observations of diel oxygen cycles

Lookup NU author(s): Professor Sam Wilson

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Abstract

©2015. The Authors.Using autonomous underwater gliders, we quantified diurnal periodicity in dissolved oxygen, chlorophyll, and temperature in the subtropical North Pacific near the Hawaii Ocean Time-series (HOT) Station ALOHA during summer 2012. Oxygen optodes provided sufficient stability and precision to quantify diel cycles of average amplitude of 0.6 μmol kg-1. A theoretical diel curve was fit to daily observations to infer an average mixed layer gross primary productivity (GPP) of 1.8 mmol O2 m-3 d-1. Cumulative net community production (NCP) over 110 days was 500 mmol O2 m-2 for the mixed layer, which averaged 57 m in depth. Both GPP and NCP estimates indicated a significant period of below-average productivity at Station ALOHA in 2012, an observation confirmed by 14C productivity incubations and O2/Ar ratios. Given our success in an oligotrophic gyre where biological signals are small, our diel GPP approach holds promise for remote characterization of productivity across the spectrum of marine environments.

Publication metadata

Author(s): Nicholson DP, Wilson ST, Doney SC, Karl DM

Publication type: Article

Publication status: Published

Journal: Geophysical Research Letters

Year: 2015

Volume: 42

Issue: 10

Pages: 4032-4039

Print publication date: 28/05/2015

Online publication date: 29/04/2015

Acceptance date: 28/04/2015

Date deposited: 16/12/2021

ISSN (print): 0094-8276

ISSN (electronic): 1944-8007

Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell Publishing, Inc.

URL: https://doi.org/10.1002/2015GL063065

DOI: 10.1002/2015GL063065

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