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RECORD NUMBER: 2 OF 10

Main Title Can Asian Dust Trigger Phytoplankton Blooms in the Oligotrophic Northern South China Sea.
Author Wang, S. H. ; Hsu, N. Y. C. ; Tsay, S. C. ; Lin, N. H. ; Sayer, A. M. ; Huang, S. J. ; Lau, W. K. M.
CORP Author National Central Univ.; Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD.; National Science Council; Environmental Protection Administration
Year Published 2012
Report Number GSFC-E-DAA-TN9217
Stock Number N14-0011866
Additional Subjects Satellite observation ; Phytoplankton ; Dust ; Sea-viewing wide field-of-view sensor ; Iron ; Biogeochemistry ; Deposition ; China ; Seas ; Biological effects ; Aerosols ; Chlorophylls
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NTIS  N14-0011866 Some EPA libraries have a fiche copy filed under the call number shown. 07/26/2022
Collation 6p
Abstract
Satellite data estimate a high dust deposition flux (approximately 18 g m(exp-2 a(exp-1) into the northern South China Sea (SCS). However, observational evidence concerning any biological response to dust fertilization is sparse. In this study, we combined long-term aerosol and chlorophyll-a (Chl-a) measurements from satellite sensors (MODIS and SeaWiFS) with a 16-year record of dust events from surface PM10 observations to investigate dust transport, flux, and the changes in Chl-a concentration over the northern SCS. Our result revealed that readily identifiable strong dust events over this region, although relatively rare (6 cases since 1994) and accounting for only a small proportion of the total dust deposition (approximately 0.28 g m(exp-2 a(exp-1), do occur and could significantly enhance phytoplankton blooms. Following such events, the Chl-a concentration increased up to 4-fold, and generally doubled the springtime background value (0.15 mg m(exp-3). We suggest these heavy dust events contain readily bioavailable iron and enhance the phytoplankton growth in the oligotrophic northern SCS.