Seasonal variability of upper ocean primary production along the Kuroshio off Japan: Roles of eddy-driven nutrient transport

Abstract

We assessed spatial and seasonal variabilities of eddy-driven vertical nutrient fluxes, which are essential for maintaining primary production in the upper ocean. A climatological model based on a Regional Oceanic Modeling System (Regional Oceanic Modeling System) coupled with a Nutrient Phytoplankton Zooplankton and Detritus (NPZD) biogeochemical model at a submesoscale eddy-permitting resolution was used to investigate the mechanisms driving such variabilities around the Kuroshio, off the coast of Japan. The model realistically reproduced the spatial segmentations in primary production on both sides of the Kuroshio path with a higher chlorophyll-a concentration on the northern side than the southern side. In winter, downward eddy-induced nitrate flux is predominantly provoked in the upstream Kuroshio region (KR), while upward nitrate fluxes prevail in the downstream Kuroshio Extension (KE) region, due to both shear and baroclinic instabilities. Baroclinic instability plays a crucial role in inducing seasonal variability, leading to enhancement (reduction) of the eddy flux in winter (summer), particularly in regions away from the Kuroshio axis. Furthermore, we found that the influence of the Izu-Ogasawara Ridge, located in the KR, on regional dynamics and resultant spatial variability of the biogeochemical response are mostly confined in the KR. The Kuroshio is less turbulent in the upstream of the ridge, while it becomes unstable to shed mesoscale eddies in laterally wider and vertically deeper regions downstream. Consequently, although the near-surface nitrate concentration is lower downstream, the upward eddy-driven nitrate flux is more effective in maintaining active primary production due to the shear and baroclinic instabilities in winter.