Lateral downslope transport and tentative sedimentary organic carbon box model in the southern Yap Trench,western Pacific Ocean

Sediment collapse and subsequent lateral downslope migration play important roles in shaping the habitats and regulating sedimentary organic carbon(SOC)cycling in hadal trenches.In this study,three sediment cores were collected using a human-occupied vehicle across the axis of the southern Yap Trench(SYT).The total organic carbon(TOC)and total nitrogen(TN)contents,δ13C,radiocarbon ages,specific surface areas,and grain size compositions of sediments from three cores were measured.We explored the influence of the lateral downslope transport on the dispersal of the sediments and established a tentative box model for the SOC balance.In the SYT,the surface TOC content decreased with water depth and was decoupled by the funneling effect of the V-shaped hadal trench.However,the sedimentation(0.0025 cm/a)and SOC accumulation rates(∼0.038 g/(m^(2)·a)(in terms of OC))were approximately 50%higher in the deeper hadal region than in the abyssal region(0.0016 cm/a and∼0.026 g/(m^(2)·a)(in terms of OC),respectively),indicating the occurrence of lateral downslope transport.The fluctuating variations in the prokaryotic abundances and the SOC accumulation rate suggest the periodic input of surficial sediments from the shallow region.The similar average TOC(0.31%–0.38%),TN(0.06%–0.07%)contents,and SOC compositions(terrestrial OC(11%–18%),marine phytoplanktonic OC(45%–53%),and microbial OC(32%–44%))of the three sites indicate that the lateral downslope transport has a significant mixing effect on the SOC composition.The output fluxes of the laterally transported SOC(0.44–0.56 g/(m^(2)·a)(in terms of OC))contributed approximately(47%–73%)of the total SOC input,and this proportion increased with water depth.The results of this study demonstrate the importance of lateral downslope transport in the spatial distribution and development of biomes.

The SPLASH Action Group—Towards standardized sampling strategies in permafrost science

The Action Group called‘Standardized methods across Permafrost Landscapes:from Arctic Soils to Hydrosystems’(SPLASH)is a community-driven effort aiming to provide a suite of standardized field strategies for sampling mineral and organic components in soils,sediments,and water across permafrost landscapes.This unified approach will allow data from different landscape interfaces,field locations and seasons to be shared and compared,thus improving our understanding of the processes occurring during lateral transport in circumpolar Arctic watersheds.

Upper-Ocean Lateral Heat Transports in the Nino3.4 Region and Their Connection with ENSO

In the Nino3.4 region(tropical Pacific,5°S-5°N,170°-120°W),sea surface temperature(SST)changes are highly correlated with temperature variations in the upper 40-m layer.This study explores the upper-ocean heat budget in the Nino3.4 region using Ocean Reanalysis System 5(ORAS5)monthly data from 1979 to 2018,with a focus on ocean heat transports at lateral boundaries in the top 40-m layer and their correlation with temperature variations.In the region,there is a well-defined structure of opposite meridional circulation in the upper and lower parts of the thermocline,characterized by divergence in the upper layer above 40 m and convergence in the lower layer.The change of mean temperature in the upper layer is determined by the sum of zonal,meridional,and vertical heat transports,which,however,tend to largely compensate for each other.In general,part of the surface heat flux from the atmosphere to the ocean and the heat transport from the subsurface ocean are transported out of the domain by meridional and zonal currents,leaving only a tiny part to warm or cool the upper ocean.The amplitude of the net surface heat flux effective for the entire 40-m layer of the ocean is weaker than the lateral heat transport.On an interannual timescale,variations of heat transports in both zonal and meridional are positively correlated with temperature anomalies,while the vertical heat transport from the subsurface ocean is negatively correlated.Composite analyses for five El Nino events and five La Nina events also revealed that there is a positive contribution of horizontal transport convergence to temperature anomalies during the evolution of El Nino(warming)and La Nina(cooling),while vertical transport acts against temperature variations.