Dynamics and Characterization of Marine Organic Matter

560 Pages·2000·14.582 MB·English

by  Takeo Hama (auth.), Nobuhiko Handa, Eiichiro Tanoue, Takeo Hama (eds.)

Dynamics and Characterization of Marine Organic Matter
Ocean Sciences Research (OSR) Volume 2
Editor: M. M. Takahashi (University of Tokyo)
Editorial Board:
K. Furuya (University of Tokyo)
K. Hanawa (Tohoku University)
N. Handa (Aichi Prefectural University)
I. Koike (University of Tokyo)
Y. Nozaki (University of Tokyo)
S. Tsunogai (Hokkaido University)
T. Yamagata (University of Tokyo)
T. Yanagi (Kyushu University)
The titZes in this se ries are listed at the end ofthis voZurne.
Cover figures: (Left) deployment of a sediment trap; (right) red tide of blue-green algae in the Coral Sea.
Dynamics and Characterization
of Marine Organic Matter
Edited by
Nobuhiko HANDA
Faculty of Information Science and Technology,
Aichi Prefectural University, Aichi-gun, Japan
Eiichiro TANOUE
Institute for Hydrospheric-Atmospheric Sciences,
Nagoya University, Nagoya, Japan
Takeo HAMA
Institute of Biological Sciences,
Tsukuba University, Tsukuba, Japan
"
Springer-Science+Business Media, B.V.
C.I.P. Catalogue record for this book is available from the Library of Congress.
ISBN 978-90-481-5451-7 ISBN 978-94-017-1319-1 (eBook)
DOI 10.1007/978-94-017-1319-1
All Rights Reserved
© 2000 by Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht
Originally published by Kluwer Academic Publishers in 2000
No part of the material protected by this copyright notice may be reproduced or utilized in
any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photo-copying, recording or
by any information storage and retrieval system, without written permission from the
copyright owner.
(This book is published by Grant-in-Aid publication of Scientific Research Result of the
Ministry of Education, Science and Culture of Japan.)
Preface
Over the past decade the scientific acti vities of the Joint Global Ocean Flux Study
(JGOFS), which focuses on the role of the oceans in controlling climate change
via the transport and storage of greenhouse gases and organic matter, have led to
an increased interest in the study ofthe biogeochemistry of organic matter. There
is also a growing interest in global climate fluctuations. This, and the need for a
precise assessment of the dynamics of carbon and other bio-elements, has led to
a demand for an improved understanding of biogeochemical processes and the
chemical characteristics of both particulate and dissolved organic matter in the
ocean.
A large amount of proxy data has been published, describing the changes of
the oceanic environment, but qualitative and quantitative estimates ofthe vertical
flux of (proxy) organic compounds have not been weIl documented. There is thus
an urgent need to pursue this line of study and, to this end, the present book starts
with several papers dealing with the primary production of organic matter in the
upper ocean. Thereafter, the book goes on to follow the flux and characterization
of particulate organic matter, discussed in relation to the primary production in
the euphotic zone and resuspension in the deep waters, including the vertical flux
of proxy organic compounds. It goes on to explain the decomposition and
transformation of organic matter in the ocean environment due to photochemical
and biological agents, and the reactivity ofbulk and specific organic compounds,
including the air-sea interaction of biogenic gases.
The 22 papers in the book reflect the interests of JGOFS and will thus serve
as a valuable reference source for future biogeochemical investigations of both
bio-elements and organic matter in seawater, clarifying the role of the ocean in
global climate change.
All papers deal with the authors' current work in progress and all have been
refereed and revised in accord with the comments received. We would like to
express our thanks to all of the contributors for their patience in waiting for this
publication. We also thank the reviewers who kindly gave the authors critical and
helpful suggestions and comments. Our thanks are also due to the Ministry of
Education, Science, Sport and Culture for the financial support they gave to this
publication.
Finally, the book was primarily planned as volume to commemorate the
retirement of one ofthe editors (N.H.) from Nagoya University after 35 years of
service to education and research in the biogeochemistry of organic matter.
September 18, 1999
N. Handa, E. Tanoue and T. Hama
Contents
Preface ..................................................................................................... v
Chapter 1. Production of Organic Matter in Upper Ocean
Production and Turnover of Organic Compounds Through Phytoplankton
Photosynthesis
T. Hama ............................................................................................. .
Environmental Control of Nitrate Uptake in Surface Oceanic Waters:
an Overview
J. Kanda .............................................................................................. 39
Distribution and Non-Dominancy of Large Diatoms in Planktonic Algal
Communities in the Central Pacific Ocean along 175°E
M. Takahashi, H. Kanazawa, H. Kiyosawa and J. Ishizaka .................. 67
Chapter 2. Flux and Characterization of Particulate Organic Matter
The Relation between Primary Production and the Flux of Particulate
Organic Matter in the sub-Arctic Coastal Sea
M. Yanada and Y. Maita ..................................................................... 91
Fatty acid Composition of Sinking Particles in the Western North Pacific
K. Hayakawa and N. Handa ................................................................ 105
Fluxes of Major Biochemicals in the Equatorial Pacific Ocean
S. G. Wakeham, C. Lee and J. I. Hedges ............................................. 117
Source of Organic Matter in Sinking Particles in the Japan Trench: Molecular
Composition and Carbon Isotopic Analyses
R. Ishiwatari, K. Yamada, K. Matsumoto, H. Naraoka,
S. Yamamoto and N. Handa ................................................................ 141
14C Budget of Sinking Particulate Organic Matter in the Japan Trench:
A New Approach to Estimate the Contribution from Resuspended Particles
in Deep Water Column
T. Nakatsuka, A. Hosokawa, N. Handa,
E. Matsumoto and T. Masuzawa .......................................................... 169
Contents
Productivity of Gephyrocapsacean Algae Revealed from Long-Chain
Alkenones and Alkyl Alkenoates in the Northwestern Pacific off Japan
K. Sawada, H. Okada, Y. Shiraiwa and N. Handa ................................ 187
Chapter 3. Decomposition and Transformation of Organic Matter
Photochemical Degradation of Dissolved Organic Carbon to Carbon
Monoxide in Coastal Seawater
K. Ohta, Y. Inomata, A. Sano and K. Sugimura ................................... 213
The Occurrence of Organic Peroxides in Seawater
H. Sakugawa, A. Takami, H. Kawai, K. Takeda, K. Fujiwara
and S. Hirata ....................................................................................... 231
"Picopellets" Produced by Phagotrophic Nanoflagellates: Role in the
Material Cycling within Marine Environments
T. Nagata ............................................................................................ 241
Feeding of Carnivorous Zooplankton, Chaetognaths in the Pacific
M. Terazaki ......................................................................................... 257
Dynamics of Organic Marine Aggregates Nanometer-Colloids to
Marine Snow
S. Hara and I. Koike ............................................................................ 277
Chapter 4. Characterization and Reactivity of Bulk and Specific Organic
Compounds
Dissolved Organic Carbon in Sub-Arctic Northeast Pacific Ocean
C. S. Wong, Zhiming Yu, Wm. K. Johnson, R. J. Matear
and F. A. Whitney ............................................................................... 299
Bulk Chemical Aspects of Dissolved Organic Matter in Seawater
Review: The Recent Findings and Unsolved Problems
H. Ogawa ............................................................................................ 311
Strong Organic Ligands in Seawater: Peculiar Functional Groups in Oceanic Organic
Matter-Synthesis
K. Hirose ............................................................................................. 339
Proteins in the Sea - Synthesis
E. Tanoue ............................................................................................ 383
Contents
Chapter 5. Air-Sea Interactions of Biogenic Gases and Organic Matter
Total Carbon and Nitrogen Contents and Molecular Composition of Water
Soluble Organic Matter in the Marine Aerosols from Western North to
Tropical Central Pacific
K. Kawamura ...................................................................................... 465
Carbon Monoxide a~d Methane in Surface Seawater of the Tropical
Pacific Ocean
H. Matsueda, H. Y. Inoue, I. Asanuma, M. Aoyama and M. Ishii ........ 485
cO Exchange between the Atmosphere and the Ocean: Carbon Cycle
2
Studies of the Meteorological Research Institute Since 1968
H. Yoshikawa Inoue ............................................................................ 509
North Pacific Water's Larger Potential Sink Capacity for Absorbing
Anthropogenie CO and the Processes Recovering It
2
S. Tsunogai ......................................................................................... 533
Dynamics and Characlerizalion of Marine Organic Maller, Eds., N. Handa, E. Tanoue and T. Hama, pp. 1-38.
© by TERRAPUB I Kluwer, 2000.
Production and Turnover of Organic Compounds through
Phytoplankton Photosynthesis
Takeo HAMA*
Institute tor Hydrospheric-Atmospheric Sciences, Nagoya University,
Chikusa-ku, Nagoya 464-8601, Japan
(Synthesis, Received 15 November 1996; accepted 31 January 1997)
INTRODUCTION
Primary production of phytoplankton in the surface layer of the ocean down to
200 m depth harvests the sunlight and converts light energy to chemical energy
as chemical bonds of organic compounds. The life of marine heterotrophs
inc1uding zooplankton, bacteria, fish and mammals depends on the organie
compounds produced by phytoplankton. Through biologieal activity, organic
compounds are partly decomposed, transformed and transported to the deep
layer. The sc ale of primary productivity in the euphotie layer accordingly
regulates the amount of biomass and accompanying material flux throughout the
water column inc1uding the sediment.
Although the number of chemical species of inorganic carbon dissolved in
sea water such as carbon dioxide, carbonie acid, bicarbonate and carbonate is
limited, the number of organic compounds produced by phytoplankton photosyn
thesis are incomparably greater. The difference in the constituent elements, type
of bonds between the elements, and molecular weight results in an infinite variety
of chemieal and biologieal characteristics of organic compounds.
Among parameters inherent in the biogeochemical cyc1e in aquatic environ
ments, the lability of organic compounds is one of the most important. A
refractory compound may not be easily decomposed through the food web in the
surface layer and may survive and be transported to deeper layers. A labile one,
on the contrary, may be rapidly decomposed into inorganie compounds within the
surface layer. Thus, the composition of organic matter produced by phytoplank
ton can have a great effect on the biogeochemical cyc1e in aquatic environments
because organic matter produced by phytoplankton is the starting point for the
flow of organic matter in the ocean.
The composition of cellular organic matter of phytoplankton and particulate
matter was first studied on an elemental composition level, such as carbon and
nitrogen. Major components constituting the organic matter of phytoplankton
* Present address: Institute of BioIogical Sciences, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8572,
Japan.
2 T.HAMA
and particulate organic matter (POM), inc\uding proteins/amino acids, carbohy
drates and lipids, were also determined by colorimetric and fluorometric meth
ods; subsequently, the detailed composition of monomers such as amino acids,
monosaccharides and fatty acids were estimated by gas and/or liquid chromatog
raphy. The analysis of the photosynthetic products has been developed from
elementallevel to monomer level as weil as the composition of cellular organic
matter and POM.
Meanwhile, determination ofthe chemical structure of an organic compound
seems to be insufficient in itselfto estimate its lability. Concerning the lability of
an organic compound in natural waters, an evaluation through its parameters
measurable in units of time such as the decomposition rate, the turnover rate
(time) and age, is sometimes much more informative than analysis ofits chemical
structure. Thus, to evaluate dynamics of organic matter in the ocean, it can be
valid to characterize organic compounds both by chemical analysis and by
temporal parameters.
Concerning the production processes of organic matter by phytoplankton
photosynthesis, when both the production rate and the concentration of each
organic compound are available, the turnover time (TT) of organic compounds
can be estimated through the production process. The TT of organic compounds
through phytoplankton photosynthesis is likely to be specific for individual
compounds, reflecting the lability of each compound in the biogeochemical
cyc\e.
Although phytoplankton photosynthesis is the most important source of
organic compounds existing in aquatic environments, it is not a sole source. Thus,
it is noteworthy that the TT estimated from the production rate trough phy
toplankton photosynthesis is likely biased from the "true TT", which by defini
tion, is a function of all sources and sinks.
In this report, I will first compile the information on primary productivity
and the sizes of organic carbon reservoirs such as particulate organic carbon
(POC) and dissolved organic carbon (DOC) on agiobai ocean scale, and then
estimate the TT of these components through primary productivity.
Secondly, a brief review of the organic composition of cellular organic
matter and photosynthetic products will be presented, followed by the experi
mental results of the variability of the composition of photosynthetic products as
measured by the l3C tracer and gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS)
method.
Finally, I will show the spectra of the TT of organic constituents both in
particulate and dissolved form through phytoplankton photosynthesis, as ob
tained from both lacustrine and oceanic waters, and will discuss the relationship
between TT and the lability of organic compounds.
GLOBAL ESTIMATES OF PRIMARY PRODUCTIVITY AND TURNOVER TIME
OF ORGANIC MATTER IN THE OCEAN
Global ocean primary productivity
e
Since Steeman Nielsen (1952) introduced radioactive carbon 4C) as a tool