2021 Volume 30 Issue 5 Pages 179-198
Focusing on the deep ocean, in this article, we summarize the existing research topics and discuss the direction and significance of future research. We focused on the ocean biogeochemical cycle in the deep ocean as an interdisciplinary topic that involves physics, chemistry, and biology. In particular, we discussed three issues: (1) transport from the deep to intermediate ocean, (2) transport and changes of organic matter from the surface to deep and intermediate oceans, and (3) temporal changes in the deep ocean. In (1), we discussed the relevance of quantifying the transport from the deep to intermediate layer in the Pacific Ocean to broaden our understanding from a vertical 1D perspective to a 3D one. In (2), we summarized the new concept of recently proposed organic matter pumps and discussed the necessity of approaches from both process and modeling studies. In (3), to understand the future changes in the deep ocean that will progress gradually, we discussed the relevance of various approaches, such as paleoceanographic studies and numerical models, in addition to continuous monitoring by observation.
