. Earth Science News .
WATER WORLD
East Asian dust deposition impacts on marine biological productivity
by Staff Writers
Beijing, China (SPX) Dec 07, 2016


(a) SeaWiFS true color image showed dust plume over the Chinese marginal seas; Phytoplankton bloom in the southern Yellow Sea (b), the East China Sea (c), and the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre (d). Image courtesy Saichun Tan. For a larger version of this image please go here.

Dust storms have important climatic and environmental effect. Particularly, dust containing nutrients (nitrogen, phosphorus, and iron, etc.) could exert a significant influence on the biogeochemical cycle in downwind sea regions, stimulate marine biological productivity, and reduce atmospheric CO2 concentrations ("iron hypothesis" proposed in late 1980s).

Since "iron hypothesis", scientists begun to pay attention to the impacts of atmospheric deposition on marine biogeochemical cycle. However, few studies have examined the direct link between natural dust events and marine biological productivity.

In recent years, a series studies of Dr. TAN Saichun and Prof. SHI Guangyu from the Institute of Atmospheric Physics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and their co-authors from Ocean University of China and Chinese Academy of Meteorological Sciences found that significant correlations were observed between East Asian dust events and chlorophyll a concentration not only in the open ocean of North Pacific Ocean, but also in the Chinese marginal seas.

In addition to long-term statistics analysis, dust storm cases studies also found that phytoplankton growth in the Yellow Sea was related to dust deposition, and peak chlorophyll a concentration in dust years was above 40% higher than that in non-dust years. Those studies suggested the effects of dust fertilization on marine biological productivity.

Recently, the team further investigated the transport process of East Asian dust events and quantitatively estimated the contribution of dust deposition to phytoplankton growth.

They found that the combination of satellite-observed column and vertical properties of aerosol were able to show the transport of dust storms from the source regions to the research seas (Chinese marginal seas and southern North Pacific) and reduce the uncertainty of the identification of dust affecting the seas.

The contribution of dust deposition to marine biological productivity was estimated from model simulated dust deposition flux.

Results showed that dust containing iron was the most important factor affecting phytoplankton growth and the deposition of iron via severe dust storms satisfied the increase in demand required for phytoplankton growth (115-291%), followed by nitrogen (it accounted for up to 1.7-4.0%), and phosphorus was the smallest one (it accounted for up to 0.2-0.5%).

Research paper


Comment on this article using your Disqus, Facebook, Google or Twitter login.


Thanks for being here;
We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain.

With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords.

Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year.

If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor
$5 Billed Once


credit card or paypal
SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter
$5 Billed Monthly


paypal only


.


Related Links
Institute of Atmospheric Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences
Water News - Science, Technology and Politics






Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle

Previous Report
WATER WORLD
Corals much older than previously thought, study finds
University Park PA (SPX) Dec 02, 2016
Coral genotypes can survive for thousands of years, possibly making them the longest-lived animals in the world, according to researchers at Penn State, the National Marine Fisheries Service and Dial Cordy and Associates. The team recently determined the ages of elkhorn corals - Acropora palmata - in Florida and the Caribbean and estimated the oldest genotypes to be over 5,000 years old. T ... read more


WATER WORLD
For Mosul displaced, the added pain of divided families

MH370 relatives in Madagascar to hunt for clues

Syrian crisis altered region's land and water resources

Refugees rehoused in Greece as temperatures drop

WATER WORLD
Shape matters when light meets atom

New technology of ultrahigh density optical storage researched at Kazan University

Earth's 'technosphere' now weighs 30 trillion tons

A watershed moment in understanding how H2O conducts electricity

WATER WORLD
Over half of Med's shark and ray species 'at risk of extinction'

600,000 risk losing water in war-scarred Ukraine

Extreme downpours could increase fivefold across parts of the US

Making spines from sea water

WATER WORLD
When permafrost melts, what happens to all that stored carbon

During last interglacial, Antarctica warned 3 times more than global average

Permafrost loss changes Yukon River chemistry with global implications

Arctic freeze slows down

WATER WORLD
EU warns no extension for British farm subsidies

Indigenous people eat 15 times more seafood than non-indigenous people

The economy of cold soil blues

S. Korea confirms more cases of deadly bird flu

WATER WORLD
One dead, 17 hurt in Peru earthquake

The farmers, their little pigs and the wolves: an Italy quake survival tale

Cyclic change within magma reservoirs affects the explosivity of volcanic eruptions

Groundwater helium level could signal potential risk of earthquake

WATER WORLD
Fidel Castro's military forays in Africa

US seeks UN arms embargo against South Sudan

Uganda nabs suspect in $120 mn fake arms deal

Africa waits and wonders on Trump's foreign policy

WATER WORLD
Human ancestor 'Lucy' was a tree climber, new evidence suggests

The role of physical environment in the 'broken windows' theory

Scientist uses 'dinosaur crater' rocks, prehistoric teeth to track ancient humans

Genes for speech may not be limited to humans









The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2024 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us.