Abstract
The spatial distribution of reactive silica (RSi) and organic carbon (OC) in the Bohai Sea was determined on the basis of field measurements, and budgets were calculated with support from literature data. The riverine input, primary production and water exchange between the Bohai Sea and Yellow Sea have a strong effect on the distributions of RSi and OC, with particularly high contents in sediments in the estuarine and mud areas in the Bohai Sea. Silica preservation in the sediment is more efficient than that of carbon. Exchanges via the Bohai Strait result in a net export of RSi and OC for the Bohai Sea. Increasing riverine inputs of RSi in the Bohai Sea due to water and sediment regulation since 2002 have induced a 10% increase in primary production. As a result, RSi has declined due to enhanced diatom growth and sedimentation. The Bohai Sea has thus shifted from a nitrogen to a silica limited ecosystem.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 1-9 |
| Number of pages | 9 |
| Journal | Continental Shelf Research |
| Volume | 166 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 15 Aug 2018 |
Funding
This study was supported in by the Basic Scientific Fund for National Public Research Institutes of China ( 2017Q10 ), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Project No. 41776089 ), the Special Support for Post-doc Creative Funding in Shandong Province ( 201703046 ), and the NSFC-Shandong Joint Fund for Marine Science Research Centers (Grant No. U1606401 ). We would like to thank Tao Sun, Hong Che and Lili Zheng for their assistance in the field sampling. We are grateful to Prof. Ruixiang Li for providing us with data on chlorophyll and primary production. Data from the cruises presented in this paper can be obtained from the corresponding author. This article has Supplementary information including text, tables and figures. Appendix A
Keywords
- Biogenic silica
- Bohai Sea
- Dissolved silicate
- Organic carbon
- Primary production
- Sedimentation