Zehr Jonathan P.

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Zehr
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Jonathan P.
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  • Article
    Nitrogen fixation in the South Atlantic Gyre and the Benguela Upwelling System
    (American Geophysical Union, 2011-08-27) Sohm, Jill A. ; Hilton, Jason A. ; Noble, Abigail E. ; Zehr, Jonathan P. ; Saito, Mak A. ; Webb, Eric A.
    Dinitrogen (N2) fixation is recognized as an important input of new nitrogen (N) to the open ocean gyres, contributing to the export of organic matter from surface waters. However, very little N2-fixation research has focused on the South Atlantic Gyre, where dust deposition of iron (Fe), an important micronutrient for diazotrophs, is seasonally low. Recent modeling efforts suggest that N2-fixation may in fact be closely coupled to, and greatest in, areas of denitrification, as opposed to the oceanic gyres. One of these areas, the Benguela Upwelling System, lies to the east of the South Atlantic Gyre. In this study we show that N2-fixation in surface waters across the South Atlantic Gyre was low overall (<1.5 nmol N l−1 d−1) with highest rates seen in or near the Benguela Upwelling System (up to ∼8 nmol N l−1 d−1). Surface water dissolved Fe (dFe) concentrations were very low in the gyre (∼0.3 nM or lower), while soluble reactive phosphorus (SRP) concentrations were relatively high (∼0.15 μM). N2-fixation rates across the entire sampling area were significantly positively correlated to dFe, but also to SRP and NO3−. Thus, high NO3− concentrations did not exclude N2-fixation in the upwelling region, which provides evidence that N2-fixation may be occurring in previously unrecognized waters, specifically near denitrification zones. However the gene encoding for a nitrogenase component (nifH) was not detected from known diazotrophs at some stations in or near the upwelling where N2-fixation was greatest, suggesting the presence of unknown diazotrophs in these waters.
  • Article
    Short-term variability in euphotic zone biogeochemistry and primary productivity at Station ALOHA : a case study of summer 2012
    (John Wiley & Sons, 2015-08-13) Wilson, Samuel T. ; Barone, Benedetto ; Ascani, Francois ; Bidigare, Robert R. ; Church, Matthew J. ; del Valle, Daniela A. ; Dyhrman, Sonya T. ; Ferroon, Sara ; Fitzsimmons, Jessica N. ; Juranek, Laurie W. ; Kolber, Zbigniew S. ; Letelier, Ricardo M. ; Martinez-Garcia, Sandra ; Nicholson, David P. ; Richards, Kelvin J. ; Rii, Yoshimi M. ; Rouco, Monica ; Viviani, Donn A. ; White, Angelicque E. ; Zehr, Jonathan P. ; Karl, David M.
    Time-series observations are critical to understand the structure, function, and dynamics of marine ecosystems. The Hawaii Ocean Time-series program has maintained near-monthly sampling at Station ALOHA (22°45′N, 158°00′W) in the oligotrophic North Pacific Subtropical Gyre (NPSG) since 1988 and has identified ecosystem variability over seasonal to interannual timescales. To further extend the temporal resolution of these near-monthly time-series observations, an extensive field campaign was conducted during July–September 2012 at Station ALOHA with near-daily sampling of upper water-column biogeochemistry, phytoplankton abundance, and activity. The resulting data set provided biogeochemical measurements at high temporal resolution and documents two important events at Station ALOHA: (1) a prolonged period of low productivity when net community production in the mixed layer shifted to a net heterotrophic state and (2) detection of a distinct sea-surface salinity minimum feature which was prominent in the upper water column (0–50 m) for a period of approximately 30 days. The shipboard observations during July–September 2012 were supplemented with in situ measurements provided by Seagliders, profiling floats, and remote satellite observations that together revealed the extent of the low productivity and the sea-surface salinity minimum feature in the NPSG.