Application of an optical nitrate profiler to high- and low-turbidity coastal shelf waters

Abstract

Here, we report the results of high-resolution nitrate measurements using an optical nitrate profiler (in situ ultraviolet spectrophotometer, ISUS) along transect across a high-turbidity shelf (East China Sea) and a low-turbidity shelf (Chukchi Sea). The ISUS-measured nitrate concentrations closely reproduced the results measured by conventional bottle methods in low-turbidity waters. However, for high-turbidity waters of the East China Sea (salinity<30), a correction factor of 1.19 was required to match the standard bottle measurements. The high-resolution ISUS data revealed subtle spatial variability (e.g., a subsurface nitrate minimum) that may have been missed if based solely on bottle results. Four main structures of the nitracline on the East China Sea are apparent from the ISUS nitrate profile. High-resolution nitrate data are important for studying nitrate budgets and nutrient dynamics on continental shelves.