Nutrient flux fuels the summer primary productivity in the oligotrophic waters of the Gulf of Aqaba, Red Sea

• Autorzy: Badran M.I. , Rasheed M. , Manasrah R. , Al-Najjar T.
• Języki publikacji: EN

Abstrakty

EN

The thermohaline characteristics of the Gulf of Aqaba, Red Sea, depict a welldefined seasonal pattern of winter mixing from December to April and summer stratification from May to November. This thermohaline structure is a major controlling factor of the nutrient, chlorophyll a and primary productivity seasonal cycles. The nitrate and chlorophyll a concentration records generated down to 200 m at a vertical resolution of 25 m – weekly during 1994, 1995 and every two weeks from April 1997 through to December 2000 – are employed to assess the nitrogen flux across the summer thermocline of the Gulf of Aqaba. The flux calculations are based on a simple diffusion model that incorporates the physical stress eddy diffusivity factor Kz and a biological stress factor k. Both Kz and k are calculated using the Michaelis-Menten equation and the nitrate concentration gradient. The total nitrate flux of the Gulf of Aqaba during the seven summer months (May–November) is estimated at 0.52 moleN m−2. In relation to established primary productivity values (75.5 gC m−2 (May November)−1) and the generated chlorophyll a records, this yields an f fraction of new to total primary production of 0.50. This relatively high f value is discussed with respect to the geophysical characteristics of the Gulf of Aqaba and similar oceanic basins. The remaining 50% is accounted for by cross-sectional flow from the relatively nutrientrich coral reef coastal habitat and rapid recycling, triggered by high irradiance and water temperature.

Słowa kluczowe

EN

Aqaba Gulf; biological stress; diffusion model; chlorophyll a; oligotrophic water; primary productivity; thermohaline stratification; nutrient flux; Red Sea

• Wydawca: -
• Czasopismo: Oceanologia
• Rocznik: 2005
• Tom: 47
• Numer: 1
• Opis fizyczny: p.47-60,fig.,ref.

Twórcy

autor

Badran M.I.

• Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305-2115, USA

autor

Rasheed M.

autor

Manasrah R.

autor

Al-Najjar T.

Bibliografia

• Al-Najjar T.H., Badran M. I., Al-Zibdeh M., 2003, Seasonal cycle of surface zooplankton biomass in relation to chlorophyll a in the Gulf of Aqaba, Red Sea. Abhath al-Yarmouk, Basic Sci. Eng., 12 (1), 109–118.
• Alsayed A., Gaddaf M., 1993, Upwellingan d fish mortality in the northern Gulf of Aden, Indian J. Mar. Sci., 22, 305–307.
• Altabet M.A., 1989, Particulate new nitrogen fluxes in the Sargasso Sea, J. Geophys. Res., 94, 12771–12779.
• Arar E. J., Collins G. B., 1992, Method 445.0. In vitro determination of chlorophyll a and pheophytin a in marine and freshwater algae by fluorescence, Natl. Exposure Res. Lab. US EPA, Cincinnati, OH.
• Böttger-Schnack R., 1995, Summer distribution of micro- and small mesozooplankton in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, with special reference to noncalanoid copepods, Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser., 118, 81–102.
• Badran M. I., 2001, Dissolved oxygen, chlorophyll a and nutrient: seasonal cycles in waters of the Gulf of Aqaba, Red Sea, Aquat. Ecosyst. Health Manage., 4 (2), 139–150.
• BadranM. I., Foster P., 1998, Environmental quality of the Jordanian coastal waters of the Gulf of Aqaba, Red Sea, Aquat. Ecosyst. Health Manage., 1 (1), 75–90.
• Badran M. I., Rasheed M., Richter C., Abu Hilal A., Smadi F., Hempel G., 1999, Nutrient enrichment of coral reef waters in the Gulf of Aqaba, Red Sea, pp. 289–297, Proc. Int. MEADCOAST-EMECS Joint Conf. ‘Land-ocean interactions: managing coastal ecosystems’, E. ¨Ozhan (ed.), 9–13 November 1999, Antalya (Turkey).
• Chapman P., Rae C.M.D., Allanson B.R., 1987, Nutrients, chlorophyll and oxygen relationships in the surface layers at the Agulhas Retroflection, Deep-Sea Res., 34, 1399–1416.
• Denman K. L., Gargett A. E., 1983, Time and space scales of vertical mixingan d advection of phytoplankton in the upper ocean, Limnol. Oceanogr., 28 (5), 801–815.
• Dugdale R.C., 1967, Nutrient limitation in the sea: dynamics, identification, and significance, Limnol. Oceanogr., 12 (4), 685–695.
• Dugdale R.C., Wilkerson F.P., Minas H. J., 1995, The role of silicate pump in drivingn ew production, Deep-Sea Res., 42 (5), 697–719.
• Fasham M. J.R., 1995, Variations in the seasonal cycle of biological production in sub-arctic oceans: a model sensitivity analysis, Deep-Sea Res., 42 (7), 1111–1149.
• Fasham M. J.R., Ducklow W.H., McKelvie S.M., 1990, A nitrogen-based model of plankton dynamics in the oceanic mixed layer, J. Mar. Res., 48, 591–639.
• Garside C., 1985, The vertical distribution of nitrate in open ocean surface water, Deep-Sea Res., 32, 723–732.
• Gowen R. J., Tett P., Jones K., 1992, Predictingm arine eutrophication: the yield of chlorophyll from nitrogen in Scottish coastal waters, Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser., 85, 153–161.
• Jamart B.M., Winter D. F., Banse K., Anderson G.C., Lam R. K., 1977, A theoretical study of phytoplankton growth and nutrient distribution in the Pacific Ocean off the northwestern U.S. coasts, Deep-Sea Res., 24, 753–773.
• Jeffrey S.W., 1980, Algal pigment systems, [in:] Primary productivity in the sea, P.G. Falkowski (ed.), Plenum Press, New York, 33–57.
• Jenkins W. J., 1988, Nitrate flux into the euphotic zone near Bermuda, Nature, 331, 521–523.
• Jenkins W. J., Goldman J.C., 1985, Seasonal oxygen cycling and primary production in the Sargasso Sea, J. Mar. Res., 43, 465–491.
• Jones R., Henderson E.W., 1987, The dynamics of nutrient regeneration and simulation studies of the nutrient cycle, J. Cons. Int. Explor. Mer., 43, 216–236.
• Kimor B., Golandsky B., 1977, Microplankton of the Gulf of Elat: aspects of seasonal and bathymetric distribution, Mar. Biol., 42, 55–67.
• Klein P., Coste B., 1984, Effects of wind-stress variability on nutrient transport into the mixed layer, Deep-Sea Res., 31 (1), 21–37.
• Leger G., Artiges J.M., 1978, Etude pr´eliminaire du phytoplankton des eaux Jordaniennes du Golfe d’Aqaba, Ann. Rept. Niece Univ. Jordan Coop. Prog., 26 pp.
• Levanon-Spanier I., Padan E., Reiss Z., 1979, Primary production in a desertenclosed sea – the Gulf of Elat (Aqaba), Red Sea, Deep-Sea Res., 26 (6), 673–685.
• Lewis M.R., Harrison W.G., Oakey N. S., Herbert D., Platt T., 1986, Vertical nitrate fluxes in the oligotrophic ocean, Science, 234, 870–873.
• Lindell D., Post A. F., 1995, Ultra-phytoplankton succession is triggered by deep winter mixingi n the Gulf of Aqaba, Red Sea, Limnol. Oceanogr., 40 (6), 1130–1141.
• Mahasneh I.A., 1984, The physiological ecology of the marine phytoplankton in the Jordanian Gulf of Aqaba, M.Sc. thesis, Yarmouk Univ., Irbid, Jordan.
• Manasrah R., Badran M. I., Lass H. U., Fennel W., 2004, Circulation and winter deep-water formation in the northern Red Sea, Oceanologia, 46 (1), 5–23.
• McCarthy J. J., Carpenter E. J., 1983, Nitrogen cycling in near-surface waters of the open ocean, [in:] Nitrogen in the marine environment, E.J. Carpenter & D.G. Capone (eds.), Acad. Press, New York, 900 pp.
• Menzel D., Ryther J., 1960, The annual cycle of primary production in the Sargasso Sea off Bermuda, Deep-Sea Res., 6, 351–367.
• Natour R.M., Neinhuis H., 1980, Some phytoplanktonic studies in Aqaba Gulf of Jordan, Nova Hedwigia, 33, 433–443.
• Niemann H., Richter C., Jonkers H.M., Badran M. I., 2004, Red Sea gravity currents cascade near-reef phytoplankton to the twilight zone, Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser., 269, 91–99.
• Platt T., 1984, Primary productivity in the central North Pacific: comparison of oxygen and carbon fluxes, Deep-Sea Res., 31 (11), 1311–1319.
• Rasheed M., Badran M., Huettel M., 2003, Particulate matter filtration and seasonal nutrient dynamics in permeable carbonate and silicate sands of the Gulf of Aqaba, Red Sea, Coral Reefs, 22, 167–177.
• Rasheed M., Badran M., Richter C., Huettel M., 2002, Effect of the reef framework and bottom sediment on nutrient enrichment in coral reef of the Gulf of Aqaba, Red Sea, Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser., 239, 277–285.
• Richter C., Wunsch M., Rasheed M., K¨otter R., Badran M. I., 2001, Endoscopic exploration of Red Sea coral reefs reveals dense populations of cavity-dwelling (coelobite) sponges, Nature, 413, 726–730.
• Shulenberger E., Ried J.L., 1981, The Pacific shallow oxygen maximum, deep chlorophyll maximum, and primary productivity, reconsidered, Deep-Sea Res., 28 (A), 901–919.
• Strickland J.D.H., Parsons T.R., 1972, A practical handbook of sea water analyses, (2nd edn.) Fish. Res. Bd. Can. Bull., 167, 1–310.
• Wahbeh M. I., Badran M. I., 1991, Distribution of chlorophyll, organic carbon, protein, biomass and trace elements in the Microplankton of Aqaba (Jordan), Dirasat, 17, 161–167.