In order to investigate the seasonal variations of the nutrients of the deep seawater (DSW) from Sagami Bay, we collected water samples from the depths of 0, 100, 200, 300 and 400m, from July 1999 to January 2000, off Odawara.
Temperature, salinity, concentrations of total inorganic nitrogen (TIN), phosphate (PO
4-P) and silicate (SiO
4-Si) at 400 m depth were 8.9±1.4°C, 34.36°C0.06psu, 25.1±4.8μM, 1.8±0.3, μM, 50.1±11.2μM on average, respectively. N: P ratios were approximately 14 under 200 m depth. Concentrations of TIN, PO
4-P and SiO
4-Si were high in July and August 1999 and January 2000, when the North Pacific intermediate water prevailed. From October to December 1999, possible effects by the Kuroshio current became strong, and the concentrations of all nutrients determined were low compared those determined in the former period.
These results indicate that concentrations of nutrients of deep seawater could fluctuate in relatively large extent due to possible temporal variations of the Kuroshio current and the North Pacific intermediate water in Sagami Bay.
As temperature, salinity and concentrations of nutrients of DSW in Sagami Bay were comparable to those at the Cape Murotomisaki and Suruga Bay, which is low temperature, high nutrients and temporally stable of those characteristics, the DSW of Sagemi Bay seems to have suitable characteristics for applying business uses of DSW.
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