Distribution of particulate organic materials in the Pacific and Indian Sectors of the Antarctic Ocean in the austral summer

• Main Authors: Eiichiro Tanoue, Michio Zenimoto, Yuzo Komaki, Nobuhiko Handa
• Format: Report
• Language: English
• Published: Division of Environmental Science, The Graduate School of Science and Technology, Kobe University/Faculty of Applied Biological Science, Hiroshima University/Far Seas Fisheries Research Laboratory/Water Research Institute, Nagoya University 1986
• Subjects: Antarctic; Antarctic Ocean; Austral; Indian; Pacific; The Antarctic; Antarc*; Memoirs of National Institute of Polar Research; Polar Research
• Online Access: https://nipr.repo.nii.ac.jp/?action=repository_uri&item_id=1908; http://id.nii.ac.jp/1291/00001908/; https://nipr.repo.nii.ac.jp/?action=repository_action_common_download&item_id=1908&item_no=1&attribute_id=18&file_no=1

Particulate matter was collected from the surface through deep water layers at 31 hydrographic stations along the four transects in the Pacific sector and one transect in the Indian sector of the Antarctic Ocean. The particulate matter was analyzed for organic carbon (POC), amino acid, carbohydrate and lipid contents. The Pacific sector was divided into three water masses, each of which was subdivided into three water layers. The average POC concentrations among the three water masses ranged from 55.6 to 82.0μgC/l in the surface water layer (0-100m), the value tending to decrease with depth to 24.5-47.1 and 19.2-40.4μgC/l in the intermediate (125-200m) and deep (300-1500m) water layers, respectively. The values are lower than those reported in the most productive oceanic areas, but higher than those reported in low latitude areas and comparable to those reported in middle latitude areas in the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans. Along the transect in the Indian sector, the average POC concentration was 237μgC/l in the surface water layer. This high concentration of POC was assumed to give rise to the spring phytoplankton blooming in this region. The percentages of amino acid-, carbohydrate- and lipid-carbons in POC were determined. The percentages of amino acid- and lipid-carbons in POC increased southward to the areas where the dichothermal water was observed. Significantly high percentages of amino acid-carbon in POC were found for the particulate matter suspended in the water layer above the cold water mass. On the other hand, high values for the particulate lipid were obtained in and below the cold water mass. It was concluded that the protein-rich particulate matter was distributed in the water layer above the cold water mass, while lipid-rich particulate matter was localized in the cold water mass. The high concentration of the glycolipid and relatively low concentrations of both the simple lipid and the phospholipid were characteristics of the particulate matter suspended in the dichothermal water. Mechanisms of ...