Seasonal Variability of Phytoplankton Following Extreme Aerosol Events in the Western Subarctic Pacific

Abstract Phytoplankton growth in the western subarctic Pacific is strongly influenced by the supply of bioavailable iron (BFe), which is primarily regulated by atmospheric deposition that was most prominent in spring, weak in summer, and negligible in other seasons. The seasonal phytoplankton responses on these events were investigated using a coupled physical‐biogeochemical model. In fall and winter, light limitation and BFe dilution caused by deep mixing suppressed phytoplankton growth following such events. However, as the mixed layer shallowed in spring, BFe concentrations in the upper ocean increased sharply, triggering a rapid increase in diatom biomass. In contrast, summer exhibited no significant enhancement of diatom biomass due to mesozooplankton grazing pressure, while picoplankton instead dominated the phytoplankton increase. These findings underscore the importance of accounting for local physical and biological factors when projecting the impacts of atmospheric deposition on marine biogeochemical cycles under global climate change.

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Publication Details

Journal
Geophysical Research Letters
Published
2025-10-15
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1029/2025gl117114
Primary Topic
Marine and coastal ecosystems
Type
article
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article

Seasonal Variability of Phytoplankton Following Extreme Aerosol Events in the Western Subarctic Pacific

Haoran Zhang, Sana Ben Ismail, Yuanyuan Feng, Wentao Ma et al.
Geophysical Research Letters
Marine and coastal ecosystems
article

Seasonal Variability of Phytoplankton Following Extreme Aerosol Events in the Western Subarctic Pacific

Haoran Zhang, Sana Ben Ismail, Yuanyuan Feng, Wentao Ma, Shuangling Chen, Haibo Jiang, Fei Chai, Peng Xiu, Mei Zheng, Ruifeng Zhang, Weijun Li, Yuntao Wang, Tianle Zhang
article en

Abstract

Abstract Phytoplankton growth in the western subarctic Pacific is strongly influenced by the supply of bioavailable iron (BFe), which is primarily regulated by atmospheric deposition that was most prominent in spring, weak in summer, and negligible in other seasons. The seasonal phytoplankton responses on these events were investigated using a coupled physical‐biogeochemical model. In fall and winter, light limitation and BFe dilution caused by deep mixing suppressed phytoplankton growth following such events. However, as the mixed layer shallowed in spring, BFe concentrations in the upper ocean increased sharply, triggering a rapid increase in diatom biomass. In contrast, summer exhibited no significant enhancement of diatom biomass due to mesozooplankton grazing pressure, while picoplankton instead dominated the phytoplankton increase. These findings underscore the importance of accounting for local physical and biological factors when projecting the impacts of atmospheric deposition on marine biogeochemical cycles under global climate change.

Geophysical Research LettersVol. 52(20)
Ningbo University (CN), Shanghai Jiao Tong University (CN), Xiamen University (CN), Peking University (CN), Ministry of Natural Resources (CN), Second Institute of Oceanography (CN), Institut National des Sciences et Technologies de la Mer (TN), Zhejiang University (CN)
Openalex Percentile: Top 71%
Marine and coastal ecosystems
DOIOpen Access PDFOpenAlex
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