Organic compounds of the suspended particles in the Pacific Sector of the Southern Ocean

• Main Authors: Nobuhiko Handa, Eiichiro Tanoue
• Format: Report
• Language: English
• Published: Water Research Institute, Nagoya University 1983
• Subjects: Antarctic; Antarctic Ocean; Pacific; Southern Ocean; The Antarctic; Antarc*; Antarctica; Euphausia superba; Memoirs of National Institute of Polar Research; Polar Research
• Online Access: https://nipr.repo.nii.ac.jp/?action=repository_uri&item_id=1433; http://id.nii.ac.jp/1291/00001433/; https://nipr.repo.nii.ac.jp/?action=repository_action_common_download&item_id=1433&item_no=1&attribute_id=18&file_no=1

Particulate matter was collected from the ocean areas of the West Pacific and the Pacific Sector of the Antarctic Ocean (32°N-65°S, 125°-160°E) during the cruise of T. S. UMITAKA MARU of Tokyo University of Fisheries in 1980-1981. The samples were analyzed for organic carbon and nitrogen, carbohydrate, amino acids including free and combined forms, lipid and chlorophylls. Detailed analyses of fatty acids of the particulate samples were conducted to clarify their ecological significance in the Antarctic Ocean. Characteristic features of particulate organic matter in the Antarctic Ocean are as follows. 1) Particulate organic carbon (POC) and nitrogen (PON) collected from the surface waters of the western Pacific and Antarctic Oceans were determined as the ranges of 25.4-150μgC/l and 3.50-25.2μgC/l respectively. POC and PON are distributed with relatively low values in the western Pacific Ocean, while much higher level of the values was observed in the Antarctic Ocean. Regional variabilities of the values occurred to a great extent. 2) Particulate matter collected from the Antarctic Ocean was analyzed for carbohydrate, amino acid and lipid, which accounted for 18.6-40.3%, 11.1-16.5% and 22.7-37.8% of POC respectively. Lipid materials were much abundant in the particulate matter collected from the oceanic area south of the Antarctic Divergence. 3) Fatty acids with carbon atoms ranging from 14 to 24 were detected in the particulate matter from the Antarctic Ocean and were quantified by gas chromatography. The ratio of unsaturated fatty acids with carbon atoms of 16,18 and 20 to total fatty acids tended to increase toward Antarctica. These unsaturated fatty acids accounted for more than 40% of total fatty acids of the particulate matter from the oceanic area south of the Antarctic Divergence. 4) Fecal pellet of Euphausia superba and its feed, Dunaliella tertiolecta were analyzed for fatty acids to elucidate their ecological significance in the Antarctic Ocean. The results obtained indicated that algal fatty acids and ...