Impact of dust deposition on phytoplankton biomass in the Northwestern Pacific: A long-term study from 1998 to 2020

Xianglei Meng; Fengmei Yao; Jiahua Zhang; Quan Liu; Qi Liu; Lamei Shi; Da Zhang

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.152536

Impact of dust deposition on phytoplankton biomass in the Northwestern Pacific: A long-term study from 1998 to 2020

Sci Total Environ. 2022 Mar 20:813:152536. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.152536. Epub 2021 Dec 24.

Authors

Xianglei Meng¹, Fengmei Yao², Jiahua Zhang³, Quan Liu⁴, Qi Liu¹, Lamei Shi⁵, Da Zhang⁵

Affiliations

¹ College of Earth and Planetary Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
² College of Earth and Planetary Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China; The Key Laboratory of Computational Geodynamics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China. Electronic address: yaofm@ucas.ac.cn.
³ College of Earth and Planetary Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China; Aerospace Information Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China. Electronic address: zhangjh@radi.ac.cn.
⁴ College of Earth and Planetary Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China; Max-Planck-Institute for Meteorology, 20146 Hamburg, Germany.
⁵ Aerospace Information Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China; College of Earth and Planetary Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.

PMID: 34954163
DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.152536

Abstract

Dust deposition can supply nutrients to the ocean and affect phytoplankton growth. However, the impact of dust deposition on phytoplankton biomass in varying trophic regions remains poorly evaluated. The Northwestern Pacific is located in the downwind area of East Asian dust and includes eutrophic regions (Yellow Sea, YS; East China Sea, ECS), high-nutrient low-chlorophyll waters (subarctic Northwestern Pacific, SNWP) and low-nutrient low-chlorophyll waters (Northwestern Pacific subtropical gyre, NWPSG), which is an ideal region to explore the spatial heterogeneity of the dust fertilization effect. Here, the distribution and variation of dust deposition, high dust deposition events (HDDE) and Chlorophyll-a concentration (Chl-a, mg m^-3) in the Northwestern Pacific during spring from 1998 to 2020 were investigated. The differences in the response of phytoplankton biomass (using Chl-a as a proxy) to HDDE in the YS, the ECS, the SNWP and the NWPSG were explored. Our results indicated that a large amount of dust was deposited into the Northwest Pacific during spring, resulting in numerous HDDE. The HDDE could stimulate the increase of phytoplankton biomass in the whole area of the Northwestern Pacific during spring. The response probabilities of Chl-a to HDDE were most significant (~80%) in the SNWP and the duration of response was the longest, even lasting for up to 40 days. While the response probabilities of Chl-a to HDDE were lowest in the YS and ECS (~65%), increasing from north to south, and most of the responses were less than 20 days. The response of Chl-a to HDDE was also detected in NWPSG, confirming the dust fertilization effect in oligotrophic waters, with response probabilities of 70% and duration less than 30 days. Overall, this study provides a more comprehensive understanding of the differences of phytoplankton response to dust deposition in varying trophic regions.

Keywords: Chlorophyll-a; Dust deposition; Northwestern Pacific; Phytoplankton; Remote sensing; Response.

MeSH terms

Biomass
Chlorophyll
Chlorophyll A
Dust* / analysis
Phytoplankton*
Seasons

Substances

Dust
Chlorophyll
Chlorophyll A