Iron distributions in the water column of the Japan Basin and Yamato Basin (Japan Sea)

Fujita, Satoshi*; Kuma, Kenshi*; Ishikawa, Satoko*; Nishimura, Shotaro*; Nakayama, Yuta*; Ushizaka, Satomi*; Isoda, Yutaka*; Otosaka, Shigeyoshi; Aramaki, Takafumi*

Journal of Geophysical Research, 115(C12), p.C12001_1 - C12001_12, 2010/12

https://doi.org/10.1029/2010JC006123

Vertical distributions of dissolved iron (D-Fe, less than 0.22 micrometer fraction), total iron (T-Fe, unfiltered), and chemical and biological components (e.g., nutrients) in seawater were determined at seven stations in the Japan Sea to understand the mechanisms that control iron behavior. Distributions of the D-Fe were characterized by surface depletion, mid-depth maxima, then slight decrease with depth in deep water and uniform concentration in bottom water because of biological uptake in the surface water and release from microbial decomposition of sinking organic matter in mid-depth water. The T-Fe concentrations in the deep-water column were variable with different T-Fe levels among stations and depths. We found a significant relationship of the exponential increase in the T-Fe concentrations with decreasing water transmittance, resulting from the iron supply into the deep and bottom waters due to the lateral transport of resuspended sediment from the continental slope.