Concentration and UV reactivity of total organic carbon in the upper layer in the oligotrophic subtropical western North Pacific

Abstract

[1] Characteristics of temporal variation in the vertical profile of total organic carbon (TOC) were investigated in the upper layer of the ocean at various latitudes (10-30°N) of 137°E in the western North Pacific subtropical gyre. Bulk TOC was divided into labile and stable fractions by the specific UV irradiation to evaluate their contributions to the temporal fluctuation of TOC. Authentic specimens and dissolved organic carbon collected from coastal waters were used to examine the correspondence between the photochemical reactivity to the specific UV irradiation and biological reactivity. The concentration of TOC in the upper layer was higher in summer when the surface layer is well stratified and was lower in winter when the mixed layer deepened. Although the winter mixed layer is shallower in lower latitudes, the amplitude of the seasonal variations in the top 50 m weighted mean TOC concentration (19.5-27.7 mM) did not vary considerably over the subtropical zones we studied. A major fraction (51.9-89.8%) of TOC was stable against specific UV irradiation and was thought to be mainly composed of biologically stable organic compounds, but the seasonal variation of TOC at each latitude was mainly attributable to the variation of UV labile fraction. This finding suggests that the seasonal variation of TOC in the upper layer is explained by the biological production of TOC in summer surface water and its vertical mixing with low UV, labile TOC in winter. Upward advection of subsurface water due to the passage of cyclonic eddies and changes in the geostrophic current are also likely to affect the temporal TOC variation, in particular, in the lower latitudes where winter mixed layer and permanent thermocline are shallower.