Effects of microbial transformation on dissolved organic matter in the east Taiwan Strait and implications for carbon and nutrient cycling

• Different DOM components exhibited contrasting spatial distributions.
• The dynamics of DOM were influenced strongly by microbial transformations.
• DIC and nutrients were released by the degradation of labile DOM components.

Dissolved inorganic and organic carbons (DIC and DOC) provide two of the largest pools of carbon in the ocean. However, limited information is available concerning the relationship between DIC and different constituents of dissolved organic matter (DOM), such as fluorescent compounds. This study investigates the dynamics of DOM and their implications for carbon and nutrient cycling in the east Taiwan Strait, using DOC, absorption spectroscopy, and fluorescence excitation-emission matrices-parallel factor analysis (EEM-PARAFAC). The study area was dominated by the waters from the South China Sea during the sampling period in summer 2013. The dynamics of DOM were influenced strongly by microbial activities, as indicated by the close correlations (the absolute value of r: 0.75–0.97, p < 0.001) between apparent oxygen utilization (AOU) and DOM parameters, including DOC, the absorption coefficient at 280 nm, the fluorescence intensity of protein-like component C3, and the humification index HIX. The contribution of DOC degradation to the net increase in DIC was approximately 15% and 21% in the north and the south of the east Taiwan Strait, respectively. The DIC was correlated negatively with protein-like fluorescence, revealing the production of DIC by the microbial degradation of labile components. The DIC was correlated positively with humic-like fluorescence and HIX, suggesting that the storage of carbon by produced refractory humic substances could not compensate for the release of DIC in the deeper waters. The correlations of nutrients with DOM parameters were similar to those of DIC, further indicating the profound impacts of the dynamics of labile DOM on nutrient cycling.

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