Phosphate vs. silicate discontinuity layer developed at mid-depth in the East Sea

Abstract

The CREAMS (Circulation Research of the East Asian Marginal Sea) survey in 1999 revealed a sharp mid-depth discontinuity of the phosphate:silicate ratio in all basins of the East/Japan Sea. Incidentally, this discontinuity layer corresponds to the oxygen minimum layer. Directly below the discontinuity layer, oxygen concentration is increased. This increase in oxygen concentration is interpreted as a proof of intermediate water formation. Oxygen minimum indicates that the water parcel is old and stable against mixing. So it seems be an efficient barrier to vertical exchange of materials. This means that, once materials enter the lower domain, they rarely return to the upper domain. Therefore, the biogeochemistry of the East/ Japan Sea depends heavily on material input through the Korea Strait, and flux is expected to be sensitive to the climate change. As a result, the East/Japan Sea ecosystem seems vulnerable to tipping (regime shift), which occurred on a decadal time scale.