Ash Deposition Triggers Phytoplankton Blooms at Nishinoshima Volcano, Japan
Abstract Volcanoes that deposit eruptive products into the ocean can trigger phytoplankton blooms near the deposition area. Phytoplankton blooms impact the global carbon cycle, but the specific conditions and mechanisms that facilitate volcanically triggered blooms are not well understood, especiall...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Wiley
2023-11-01
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| Series: | Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1029/2023GC010914 |
| _version_ | 1827595676822798336 |
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| author | Liam J. Kelly Kristen E. Fauria Tushar Mittal Jan El Kassar Ralf Bennartz David Nicholson Ajit Subramaniam Ashok Kumar Gupta |
| author_facet | Liam J. Kelly Kristen E. Fauria Tushar Mittal Jan El Kassar Ralf Bennartz David Nicholson Ajit Subramaniam Ashok Kumar Gupta |
| author_sort | Liam J. Kelly |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Volcanoes that deposit eruptive products into the ocean can trigger phytoplankton blooms near the deposition area. Phytoplankton blooms impact the global carbon cycle, but the specific conditions and mechanisms that facilitate volcanically triggered blooms are not well understood, especially in low nutrient ocean regions. We use satellite remote sensing to analyze the chlorophyll response to an 8‐month period of explosive and effusive activity from Nishinoshima volcano, Japan. Nishinoshima is an ocean island volcano in a low nutrient low chlorophyll region of the Northern Pacific Ocean. From June to August 2020, during explosive activity, satellite‐derived chlorophyll‐a was detectable with amplitudes significantly above the long‐term climatological value. After the explosive activity ceased in mid‐August 2020, these areas of heightened chlorophyll concentration decreased as well. In addition, we used aerial observations and satellite imagery to demonstrate a spatial correlation between blooms and ash plume direction. Using a sun‐induced chlorophyll‐a fluorescence satellite product, we confirmed that the observed chlorophyll blooms are phytoplankton blooms. Based on an understanding of the nutrients needed to supply blooms, we hypothesize that blooms of nitrogen‐fixing phytoplankton led to a 1010–1012 g drawdown of carbon. Thus, the bloom could have significantly mediated the output of carbon from the explosive phase of the eruption but is a small fraction of anthropogenic CO2 stored in the ocean or the global biological pump. Overall, we provide a case study of fertilization of a nutrient‐poor ocean with volcanic ash and demonstrate a scenario where multi‐month scale deposition triggers continuous phytoplankton blooms across 1,000s of km2. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T02:57:51Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-4844f3b7664e4f87a90857ab49ef617d |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1525-2027 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T02:57:51Z |
| publishDate | 2023-11-01 |
| publisher | Wiley |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems |
| spelling | doaj.art-4844f3b7664e4f87a90857ab49ef617d2023-12-04T22:20:36ZengWileyGeochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems1525-20272023-11-012411n/an/a10.1029/2023GC010914Ash Deposition Triggers Phytoplankton Blooms at Nishinoshima Volcano, JapanLiam J. Kelly0Kristen E. Fauria1Tushar Mittal2Jan El Kassar3Ralf Bennartz4David Nicholson5Ajit Subramaniam6Ashok Kumar Gupta7Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences Vanderbilt University TN Nashville USADepartment of Earth and Environmental Sciences Vanderbilt University TN Nashville USADepartment of Geosciences The Pennsylvania State University PA State College USADepartment of Geosciences Institute of Meteorology WG Radiation & Remote Sensing Freie Universität Berlin Berlin GermanyDepartment of Earth and Environmental Sciences Vanderbilt University TN Nashville USADepartment of Marine Chemistry and Geochemistry Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution MA Woods Hole USALamont‐Doherty Earth Observatory Columbia University NY Palisades USADepartment of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences University of California, Los Angeles CA Los Angeles USAAbstract Volcanoes that deposit eruptive products into the ocean can trigger phytoplankton blooms near the deposition area. Phytoplankton blooms impact the global carbon cycle, but the specific conditions and mechanisms that facilitate volcanically triggered blooms are not well understood, especially in low nutrient ocean regions. We use satellite remote sensing to analyze the chlorophyll response to an 8‐month period of explosive and effusive activity from Nishinoshima volcano, Japan. Nishinoshima is an ocean island volcano in a low nutrient low chlorophyll region of the Northern Pacific Ocean. From June to August 2020, during explosive activity, satellite‐derived chlorophyll‐a was detectable with amplitudes significantly above the long‐term climatological value. After the explosive activity ceased in mid‐August 2020, these areas of heightened chlorophyll concentration decreased as well. In addition, we used aerial observations and satellite imagery to demonstrate a spatial correlation between blooms and ash plume direction. Using a sun‐induced chlorophyll‐a fluorescence satellite product, we confirmed that the observed chlorophyll blooms are phytoplankton blooms. Based on an understanding of the nutrients needed to supply blooms, we hypothesize that blooms of nitrogen‐fixing phytoplankton led to a 1010–1012 g drawdown of carbon. Thus, the bloom could have significantly mediated the output of carbon from the explosive phase of the eruption but is a small fraction of anthropogenic CO2 stored in the ocean or the global biological pump. Overall, we provide a case study of fertilization of a nutrient‐poor ocean with volcanic ash and demonstrate a scenario where multi‐month scale deposition triggers continuous phytoplankton blooms across 1,000s of km2.https://doi.org/10.1029/2023GC010914phytoplankton bloomash depositionNishinoshimachlorophyll‐aocean fertilizationcarbon drawdown |
| spellingShingle | Liam J. Kelly Kristen E. Fauria Tushar Mittal Jan El Kassar Ralf Bennartz David Nicholson Ajit Subramaniam Ashok Kumar Gupta Ash Deposition Triggers Phytoplankton Blooms at Nishinoshima Volcano, Japan Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems phytoplankton bloom ash deposition Nishinoshima chlorophyll‐a ocean fertilization carbon drawdown |
| title | Ash Deposition Triggers Phytoplankton Blooms at Nishinoshima Volcano, Japan |
| title_full | Ash Deposition Triggers Phytoplankton Blooms at Nishinoshima Volcano, Japan |
| title_fullStr | Ash Deposition Triggers Phytoplankton Blooms at Nishinoshima Volcano, Japan |
| title_full_unstemmed | Ash Deposition Triggers Phytoplankton Blooms at Nishinoshima Volcano, Japan |
| title_short | Ash Deposition Triggers Phytoplankton Blooms at Nishinoshima Volcano, Japan |
| title_sort | ash deposition triggers phytoplankton blooms at nishinoshima volcano japan |
| topic | phytoplankton bloom ash deposition Nishinoshima chlorophyll‐a ocean fertilization carbon drawdown |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1029/2023GC010914 |
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