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High-resolution observations of dissolved isoprene in surface seawater in the Southern Ocean during austral summer 2010–2011

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Abstract

We measured dissolved isoprene (2-methyl-1,3-butadiene; C5H8) concentrations in a broad area of the southern Indian Ocean and in the Indian sector of the Southern Ocean from 35°S to 64°S and from 37°E to 111°E during austral summer 2010–2011. Isoprene concentrations were continuously measured by use of a proton-transfer-reaction mass spectrometer combined with a bubbling-type equilibrator. Concentrations of isoprene and its emission flux throughout the study period ranged from 0.2 to 395 pmol L−1 and from 181 to 313 nmol m−2 day−1, respectively, the averages being generally higher than those of previous studies. Although we found a significant linear positive relationship between isoprene and chlorophyll-a concentrations (r 2 = 0.37, n = 36, P < 0.001), the correlation coefficient was lower than previously reported. In contrast, in the high-latitude area (>53°S) we identified a significant negative correlation (r 2 = 0.59, n = 1263, P < 0.001) between isoprene and the temperature-normalized partial pressure of carbon dioxide (n-pCO2), used as an indicator of net community production in this study. This suggests that residence times and factors controlling variations in isoprene and n-pCO2 are similar within a physically stable water column.

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Acknowledgments

We express our sincere thanks to the captain and crew of the R/V Hakuho Maru and to all the scientists on board for their support during cruise KH-10-7. We also thank Dr Y. Sato-Takabe of Ehime University and Dr H. Endo, Dr S. Takao, and Mr Y. Nosaka of Hokkaido University for help with HPLC, FCM, and microscopic analysis, and Mr Kazuhiro Okuzawa of the National Institute for Environmental Studies for his contribution to EI-PTR-MS measurements. This research was conducted under a Grant-in-Aid (no. 1867001) for Scientific Research in Priority Areas (Western Pacific Air–Sea Interaction Study; W-PASS). This research is a contribution to the Surface Ocean Lower Atmosphere Study (SOLAS) Core Project of the International Geosphere–Biosphere Programme (IGBP).

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  1. Graduate School of Environmental Science, Faculty of Environmental Earth Science, Hokkaido University, North 10 West 5, Kita-ku, Sapporo, 060-0810, Japan

    Sohiko Kameyama, Satoshi Yoshida, Koji Suzuki & Hisayuki Yoshikawa-Inoue

  2. Center for Global Environmental Research, National Institute for Environmental Studies, 16-2 Onogawa, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, 305-8506, Japan

    Hiroshi Tanimoto & Satoshi Inomata

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  1. Sohiko Kameyama
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  2. Satoshi Yoshida
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  6. Hisayuki Yoshikawa-Inoue
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Kameyama, S., Yoshida, S., Tanimoto, H. et al. High-resolution observations of dissolved isoprene in surface seawater in the Southern Ocean during austral summer 2010–2011. J Oceanogr 70, 225–239 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10872-014-0226-8

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