Spatial Distribution and Seasonal Variation of Hypoxic Zone in the Eastern Equatorial Indian Ocean

The spatial distribution and seasonal variations of the hypoxic zone in the eastern equatorial Indian Ocean were investigated using survey data collected from four cruises from 2013 to 2018.Results showed that hypoxic zone occurred all year round in the eastern equatorial Indian Ocean,and it spread southward in the shape of a double tongue at two depths with one at subsurface centered at a depth of 150 m and the other in intermediate water centered at a depth of 800 m.The southward expansion and maximum thickness of the hypoxic zone were greatest in the spring inter-monsoon and least in the summer monsoon.The hypoxic zone originated from the southward expansion of the hypoxic water in the Bay of Bengal and its spatial distribution was driven by southward output flux of mid-deep(100–1000 m)hypoxic water from the Bay of Bengal.The hypoxia southward expansion was blocked near the equator in the subsurface layer,because of mixing with multiple zonal circulations(e.g.,Wyrtki Jets and the equatorial undercurrent),which meant that the hypoxic zone extended over a smaller area than in the intermediate water.These new findings will contribute to an improved understanding of the hypoxic zone and will contribute to circulation research,particularly about intermediate circulation in the eastern equatorial Indian Ocean.

Diurnal changes in bacterial communities in oxic surface and hypoxic middle seawater layers of the Changjiang River Estuary

The Changjiang River Estuary(CRE)in the East China Sea suffers from seasonal hypoxia in summer.The vertical distributions and seasonal changes of microbial communities in the CRE were well documented.However,little is known about the diurnal changes of bacterial communities in the hypoxic zone of the CRE.Here,16 S rRNA gene analysis was used to explore the changes of bacterial communities in the oxic surface and hypoxic middle seawater layers during 24 h in the CRE.Significant differences between the hypoxic and oxic layers were observed:the phyla Cyanobacteria,Bacteroidetes and Acidimicrobiia were enriched in the oxic layer,whereas the phylum SAR406 and the class Deltaproteobacteria were more abundant in the hypoxic layer.In addition,some subtle diurnal variations of the bacterial relative abundance were found in both two layers.The relative abundance of Synechococcus increased at night,and this change was more obvious in the hypoxic layer.The similar trend was also found in some phototrophic and several heterotrophic bacteria,such as Rhodobacteraceae,OM60 and Flavobacteriaceae.Their relative abundances peaked at 16:00 in the oxic layer,while the relative abundances peaked at around 7:00 and decreased until 13:00 in the hypoxic layer.Together,the results of the present study suggest that some photosynthetic bacteria and several heterotrophic bacteria have similar diurnal variations implying the light and physicochemical heterogeneity in the course of a day are important for bacterial diurnal changes in the CRE.

Distribution and Controlling Factors of Dissolved Gaseous Mercury and Reactive Mercury in Seawater Near Yangtze River Estuary

Complex hydrocultural conditions in the estuary affect the migration and transformation of mercury.Using two voyages in July and October 2018,Dissolved Gaseous Mercury(DGM)and Reactive Mercury(RHg)were determined to explore the source,transformation and influence of DGM content in the adjacent waters of Yangtze River Estuary in summer and autumn.The results showed the contents of DGM and RHg in summer were higher than those in autumn,and both of them were higher than those in open sea.In summer and autumn,the Yangtze River brought a higher concentration of DGM,and different flow direction and runoff resulted in differences in the high value region of the surface.The emergence of low-oxygen zones in summer was conducive to the production of DGM.In autumn,windy weather allowed seawater disturbances to promote the release of mercury from the underlying sediments,especially in shallow sea in northwest.RHg showed a higher concentration in the offshore than in the open sea in summer,but there was no such trend in autumn,reflecting the influence of less runoff input.DGM is the main product of RHg reduction,and there was a significant positive correlation between DGM and RHg in summer(r=0.356,P<0.05),while the correlation between DGM and RHg was not significant in autumn due to the influence of light intensity,wind speed and nutrients.The exchange flux of mercury in the adjacent waters of the Yangtze River Estuary was higher than that in the open sea.There was no significant difference of the release flux of mercury in summer and autumn.This article highlighted that the input of mercury from the Yangtze River runoff promotes the release of mercury in seawater,and the hypoxic zone caused by eutrophication is conducive to the production of DGM.

Archaeal diversity in the seawater of Changjiang River estuary reveals its adaptability to bottom seawaters

Archaea regulate the biogeochemical processes of ocean systems.The Changjiang(Yangtze)River estuary(CRE) is a complex and dynamic area strongly affected by seawaters and ocean currents.In this study,the planktonic archaeal communities in the surface and bottom seawaters of the CRE were investigated.Significant differences in the archaeal community composition were found between the surface and bottom seawaters(P<0.001).Marine Group Ⅱ(MG-Ⅱ) was dominant in the surface layers,and Nitrosopumilales was enriched in the bottom layers.Marine Group Ⅲ(MG-Ⅲ) was more abundant in the bottom layers than in the surface ones(P<0.001).These results were completely different from previous findings in the CRE seawater.Instead of dissolved oxygen(DO),temperature and salinity were the most vital environmental variations in the distribution of the archacal communities.According to the predicted metabolic pathways,the following functional subcategories were enriched in the hypoxic condition:replication and repair,membrane transport,glycan biosynthesis and metabolism,amino acid metabolism,metabolism of cofactors and vitamins,and xenobiotics biodegradation and metabolism(P<0.001),which indicated the strong adaptability of archaea to the harsh environment in the bottom seawater.These findings expand the understanding on archaeal structure and functions in the surface and bottom seawaters,including the hypoxic zones in the CRE,and may contribute to further works of the archaeal community in the CRE.