Subpolar marginal seas fuel the North Pacific through the intermediate water at the termination of the global ocean circulation.

ABSTRACT: The mechanism by which nutrients in the deep ocean are uplifted to maintain nutrient-rich surface waters in the subarctic Pacific has not been properly described. The iron (Fe) supply processes that control biological production in the nutrient-rich waters are also still under debate. Here, we report the processes that determine the chemical properties of intermediate water and the uplift of Fe and nutrients to the main thermocline, which eventually maintains surface biological productivity. Extremely nutrient-rich water is pooled in intermediate water (26.8 to 27.6 σθ) in the western subarctic area, especially in the Bering Sea basin. Increases of two to four orders in the upward turbulent fluxes of nutrients were observed around the marginal sea island chains, indicating that nutrients a

SUBMITTER: Nishioka J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7293607 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature