Short term variability of Particle fluxes and its relation to variability in sea surface temperature and chlorophylla field detected by Ocean Color and Temperature Scanner (OCTS) off Sanriku, northwestern North Pacific in the spring of 1997

A sediment trap experiment was carried out in conjunction with an over flight of Ocean Color Temperature Scanner (OCTS) on board Advanced Earth Observing Satellite (ADEOS) at 40°N, 143°E off Sanriku in April to May 1997. Short term variability of particle fluxes was examined at depths of 450 m and 600 m from April 6 to May 1 with a sampling interval of two days, and at 450 m with one day interval from 2nd to 10th May. Daily averaged mass flux at 450 m and 600 m was 815 mg m−2d−1 and 862 mg m−2d−1, respectively. A sharp increase in mass flux was observed during the period from April 26 to April 29 with the highest mass flux of 8 g m−2d−1. About 85% of the total mass flux for the entire duration (26 days) was collected within these 4 days. Trapped material during the peak flux period was mainly composed of diatoms dominated byThalassiosira spp. and resting spores ofChaetoceros spp. This suggested that the peak flux was the result of (a) diatom bloom(s) in the euphotic column. Current meter records at 420 m showed that on April 26 and 27, the period when the peak flux was observed, the southwestward current had diminished in strength and changed its direction northwestward. Low current speeds appeared to have enhanced trap efficiency to help form the peak flux. A time series of OCTS Intensive-LAC (Local Area Coverage: Region B) images from mid-March to early May was examined todetect phytoplankton bloom(s). In the March 26th Chl image, high concentration region was restricted to the southwest off Cape Erimo, but spread around the warm core ring (WCR) 93A by April 10. East of the WCR93A, high Chl concentration remained steady until May, but to the west of the WCR93A, Chl decreased rapidly before the 19th of April. From this observation we suspect that the peak flux observed at the end of April originated from a bloom, which ceased on the 17th or 18th of April, in the region north of 40°N and west of 143°E. Taking the current meter records into account, the source region for the trapped material is most likely around southwest of the Cape Erimo.