Chlorophyll, delayed fluorescence, and primary production in the northwestern part of the Sea of Japan

Abstract

The content of chlorophyll (Chl), the intensity of delayed fluorescence (DF), the primary production (PP), and the concentrations of macronutrients were measured in the northwestern part of the Sea of Japan during cruise 30 of R/V Professor Gagarinskii in the autumn of 2000. Sixty-three stations were executed in two steps: October 12–17 (stations 2–34) and October 29–November 3 (stations 35–63). At all the stations, CTD probes were performed. Three cross sections were executed twice within a 2-to 3-week interval, during which structural changes in the hydrological fields took place due to the development of an upwelling. During this time, the length of a day and the daily photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) decreased notably. The vertical profiles of Chl and DF showed pronounced maxima. The waters of the shallow-water stations were characterized by an increased Chl content as compared to the deep-water stations. The content of Chl in the photosynthetic layer amounted from 11 to 30 mg/m2; the PP values were from 120 to 520 mg C/m2/day. At the shallow-water stations, during the second step, the Chl concentration increased by roughly 60% (on average, from 0.47 ± 0.22 to 0.77 ± 0.42 mg/m3); the PP value grew by about 40% (from 268 ± 67 to 370 ± 72 mg C/m2/day). At the deep-water stations, this increase was small (the Chl concentration and PP value increased from 0.37 ± 0.20 to 0.41 ± 0.18 mg/m3 and from 356 ± 72 to 377 ± 74 mg C/m2/day, respectively). The changes noted proceeded due to the increase in the nutrient concentrations during the time between the two surveys, despite the decrease in the length of the day and of the daily PAR. The observations performed showed that, during the autumn time, the horizontal water advection across the shelf, caused by the development of the upwelling, plays the key role in the variations of the production characteristics of the Primor’e coastal zone.