Asian dust-deposition flux to the subarctic Pacific estimated using single quartz particles

Iron availability limits marine ecosystem activities in large areas of the ocean. However, the sources and seasonal supply of iron, critically important for controlling surface ocean biogeochemistry and carbon cycling, are poorly understood. The western subarctic Pacific is a high-nutrient and low-chlorophyll region, and despite high concentrations of macronutrients, iron limits phytoplankton production in summer. Here, we determine the seasonal deposition flux of Asian dust using scanning electron microscope-cathodoluminescence analysis of single quartz particles derived from the western subarctic Pacific during 2003-2022 to trace provenance. We found a high (up to 6.9 mg m-2 day-1) deposition flux of Asian dust in May, June, and early July, with an annual average of 1.0 ± 0.2 mg m-2 day-1. The supply of dissolved-iron flux calculated from Asian dust was 0.9 ± 0.3 µg m-2 day-1 during the high productivity season (April-July), which is approximately half that from the deeper part of the ocean, calculated from vertical profiles of dissolved iron. Our study provides a reliable approach for estimating iron supply from dust to the surface ocean that may be critical for sustaining biological productivity under future ocean stratification, which suppresses nutrient supply from the subsurface ocean.

Spatial variations of 226Ra, 228Ra, 137Cs, and 228Th activities in the southwestern Okhotsk Sea

We collected 14 water column seawater samples in the southwestern Okhotsk Sea and 7 surface samples around the northern area of Hokkaido Island, Northern Japan, and employed low-background γ-spectrometry with convenient minimal radiochemical processing to determine the activities of (226)Ra (half-life t(1/2)=1600 y), (228)Ra (5.75 y), (137)Cs (30.2 y), and (228)Th (1.91 y) in the samples. Activities of (226)Ra (~2.3 mBq/L), (228)Ra (~0.7 mBq/L), and (137)Cs (~1 mBq/L) of surface waters on the Okhotsk Sea side show notable differences from those on the Japan Sea side (Soya Warm Current Water; SWCW) (~1.5 mBq/L; 1.5-2 mBq/L; 1.4-1.6 mBq/L), indicating their different origins and lateral mixing patterns. All of these nuclides exhibit unique vertical profiles; activities of soluble (226)Ra, (228)Ra, (137)Cs, and reactive (228)Th exhibit small variations from 50 to 500 m depth ((226)Ra, ~2.2 mBq/L; (228)Ra, ~0.4 mBq/L; (137)Cs, ~1 mBq/L; (228)Th, ~0.13 mBq/L). These profiles can be explained by the convective mixing of surface water such as the East Sakhalin Current Water (ESCW) to this layer.