Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Biological modulation in the seasonal variation of dissolved oxygen concentration in the upper Japan Sea

  • Original Article
  • Published:
Journal of Oceanography Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Dissolved oxygen (DO) can be influenced by both physical and biogeochemical conditions of the ocean and is hence an important index for predicting changes in ocean environments. However, the relationship between biogeochemical activities and the DO concentration has not been quantified clearly in the Japan Sea (JS). In this study, we developed a coupled physical-biogeochemical model and clarified the contributions of biological processes to the DO content in the upper JS. We conducted two numerical experiments: with and without the biogeochemical compartments. Taking the biogeochemical factors into account gave better estimations for the spring-to-autumn seasonal migration of the subsurface DO maximum. In the euphotic zone, high photosynthetic production increases the DO concentration from spring to autumn. The strongest positive effect of biological processes on DO concentrations appears in summer at a depth of 30 m and is more than 0.5 ml l−1. As summer progresses to autumn, the vertical pattern of DO concentration in the Tsushima Warm Current (TWC) region shows minima at depths between 50 and 100 m, which is caused by the intrusion of low DO water from the East China Sea. The strongest negative effect on DO concentrations mainly due to the decomposition of detritus occurs in the TWC region below 150 m depth because the water is poorly ventilated by the relatively weak winter convection.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6
Fig. 7
Fig. 8

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Boyer TP, Antonov JI, Baranova OK, Coleman C, Garcia HE, Grodsky A, Johnson DR, Locarnini RA, Mishonov AV, O’Brien TD, Paver CR, Reagan JR, Seidov D, Smolyar IV, Zweng MM (2013) World Ocean Database 2013. In: Levitus S, Mishonov A (Eds) NOAA Atlas NESDIS 72, Silver Spring, p 209

  • Byun SK (1988) Sea surface cold water near the southeastern coast of Korea: wind effect. J Oceanol Soc Korea 24:121–131

    Google Scholar 

  • Chen CTA (2008) Distributions of nutrients in the East China Sea and the South China Sea connection. J Oceanogr 64:737–751

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chen C-C, Gong G-C, Shiah F-K (2007) Hypoxia in the East China Sea: one of the largest coastal low-oxygen areas in the world. Mar Environ Res 64:399–408

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Furuya K, Kurita K, Odate T (1996) Distribution of phytoplankton in the East China Sea in the winter of 1993. J Oceanogr 52:323–333

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gamo T (1999) Global warming may have slowed down the deep conveyor belt of a marginal sea of the northwestern Pacific: Japan Sea. Geophys Res Lett 26(20):3137–3140

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gong G-C, Wen Y-H, Wang B-W, Liu G-J (2003) Seasonal variation of chlorophyll a concentration, primary production and environmental conditions in the subtropical East China Sea. Deep Sea Res II 50:1219–1236. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0967-0645(03)00019-5

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Guo C, Liu H, Zheng L, Song S, Chen B, Huang B (2014) Seasonal and spatial patterns of picophytoplankton growth, grazing and distribution in the East China Sea. Biogeosciences 11:1847–1862. https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-11-1847-2014

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hirose N (2011) Inverse estimation of empirical parameters used in a regional ocean circulation model. J Oceanogr 67(3):323–326. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10872-011-0041-4

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kano Y (1980) The annual variation of the temperature, salinity and oxygen content in the Japan Sea. Oceanogr Mag 31:15–26

    Google Scholar 

  • Kim Y-G, Kim K (1999) Intermediate waters in the East/Japan Sea. J Oceanogr 55:123–132

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kim S-W, Saitoh S-I, Ishizaka J, Isoda Y, Kishino M (2000) Temporal and spatial variability of phytoplankton pigment concentration in the Japan Sea derived from CZCS images. J Oceanogr 56:527–538

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kim K, Kim KR, Kim YG, Cho YK, Kang DJ, Takematsu M, Volkov Y (2004) Water masses and decadal variability in the East Sea (Sea of Japan). Prog Oceanogr 61:157–174. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pocean.2004.06.003

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kim S-K, Chang K-I, Kim B, Cho Y-K (2013) Contribution of ocean current to the increase in N abundance in the Northwestern Pacific marginal seas. Geophys Res Lett 40:143–148. https://doi.org/10.1029/2012GL054545

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lee H-J, Yoon J-H, Kawamura H, Kang H-W (2003) Comparison of RIAMOM and MOM in modeling the East Sea/Japan Sea circulation. Ocean Polar Res 25:287–302

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Minami H, Kano Y, Ogawa K (1999) Long-term variations of potential temperature and dissolved oxygen of the Japan Sea Proper Water. J Oceanogr 55:197–205

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • MWR (2011) Chinese river sediment bulletin 2010 (in Chinese). Ministry of Water Resources of the People’s Republic of China, Beijing, p 80

    Google Scholar 

  • Nagata H (1994) The relationship between chlorophyll a and transparency in the southern Japan Sea. Bull Jpn Sea Natl Fish Res Inst 44:39–47 (in Japanese)

    Google Scholar 

  • Onitsuka G, Yanagi T, Yoon JH (2007) A numerical study on nutrient sources in the surface layer of the Japan Sea using a coupled physical-ecosystem model. J Geophys Res 112:C05042. https://doi.org/10.1029/2006JC003981

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Reboreda R, Castro CG, Álvarez-Salgado XA, Nolasco R, Cordeiro NGF, Queiroga H, Dubert J (2015) Oxygen in the Iberian margin: a modeling study. Prog Oceanogr 131:1–20

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Redfield AC, Ketchum BH, Richards FA (1963) The influence of organisms on the composition of seawater. In: Hill MN (ed) The sea, vol 2. Wiley, New York, pp 26–77

    Google Scholar 

  • Rho T, Lee T, Kim G, Chang K-I, Na TH, Kim K-R (2012) Prevailing subsurface chlorophyll maximum (SCM) layer in the East Sea and its relation to the physico-chemical properties of water masses. Ocean Polar Res 34(4):413–430 (in Korean with English abstract)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Senjyu T (1999) The Japan Sea Intermediate Water; its characteristics and circulation. J Oceanogr 55:111–122

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shin C-W, Byun S-K, Kim C, Lee JH, Kim B-C, Hwang S-C, Seung YH, Shin H-R (2007) General characteristics of the East Sea Intermediate Water. Ocean Polar Res 29(1):33–42 (in Korean with English abstract)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shin C-W, Byun S-K, Kim C, Lee JH, Kim B-C, Hwang S-C, Seung YH, Shin H-R (2013) Seasonal variations in the low-salinity intermediate water in the region south of sub-polar front of the East Sea (Sea of Japan). Ocean Sci J 48(1):35–47

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Takikawa T, Morimoto A, Onitsuka G, Watanabe A, Moku M (2008) Characteristics of water mass under the surface mixed layer. J Oceanogr 64:585–594

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Toyoda T, Awaji T, Masuda S, Sugiura N, Igarashi H, Sasaki Y, Hiyoshi Y, Ishikawa Y, Saitoh S-I, Yoon S, In T, Kishi MJ (2013) Improved state estimations of lower trophic ecosystems in the global ocean based on a Green’s function approach. Prog Oceanogr 119:90–107

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Umezawa Y, Yamaguchi A, Ishizaka J, Hasegawa T, Yoshimizu C, Tayasu I, Yoshimura H, Morii Y (2014) Seasonal shifts in the contributions of the Changjiang River and the Kuroshio Current to nitrate dynamics in the continental shelf of the northern East China Sea based on a nitrate dual isotopic composition approach. Biogeosciences 11:1297–1317

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Watanabe YW, Wakita M, Maeda N, Ono T, Gamo T (2003) Synchronous bidecadal periodic changes of oxygen, phosphate and temperature between the Japan Sea deep water and the North Pacific intermediate water. Geophys Res Lett 30(24):2273. https://doi.org/10.1029/2003GL018338

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Weiss RF (1970) The solubility of nitrogen, oxygen and argon in water and seawater. Deep Sea Res 17:721–735

    Google Scholar 

  • Worthington LV (1976) On the North Atlantic circulation. The Johns Hopkins Oceanographic Studies Number 6. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, p 110

    Google Scholar 

  • Yamada K, Ishizaka J, Yoo S, Kim H-C, Chiba S (2004) Seasonal and interannual variability of sea surface chlorophyll a concentration in the Japan/East Sea (JES). Prog Oceanogr 61:193–211

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yanagi T, Onitsuka G, Hirose N, Yoon J-H (2001) A numerical simulation on the mesoscale dynamics of the spring bloom in the sea of Japan. J Oceanogr 57:617–630

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yoo S, Park J (2009) Why is the southwest the most productive region of the East Sea/Sea of Japan? J Mar Syst 78:301–315

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhang J, Zhang ZF, Liu SM, Wu Y, Xiong H, Chen HT (1999) Human impacts on the large world rivers: would the Changjiang (Yangtze River) be an illustration? Global Biogeochem Cycles 13(4):1099–1105. https://doi.org/10.1029/1999GB900044

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

This research was supported by the Environment Research and Technology Development Fund of the Ministry of the Environment, Japan (S-13).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Interdisciplinary Graduate School of Engineering Sciences, Kyushu University, Kasuga-koen, Kasuga, 816-8580, Japan

    Haejin Kim

  2. Research Institute for Applied Mechanics, Kyushu University, Kasuga-koen, Kasuga, 816-8580, Japan

    Katsumi Takayama & Naoki Hirose

  3. National Research Institute of Fisheries and Environment of Inland Sea, Japan Fisheries Research and Education Agency, Maruishi 2-17-5, Hatsukaichi, 739-0452, Japan

    Goh Onitsuka

  4. Northwest Pacific Region Environmental Cooperation Center, Ushijimashin-machi, Toyama, 930-0859, Japan

    Takafumi Yoshida

  5. International Environmental Management of Enclosed Coastal Seas Center, Chuo-ku, Kobe, 651-0073, Japan

    Tetsuo Yanagi

Authors
  1. Haejin Kim
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Katsumi Takayama
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Naoki Hirose
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Goh Onitsuka
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Takafumi Yoshida
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Tetsuo Yanagi
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Haejin Kim.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Kim, H., Takayama, K., Hirose, N. et al. Biological modulation in the seasonal variation of dissolved oxygen concentration in the upper Japan Sea. J Oceanogr 75, 257–271 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10872-018-0497-6

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10872-018-0497-6

Keywords

Search

Navigation