Spatial and temporal variation of dissolved inorganic radiocarbon in the East Sea

Abstract

This study examined the spatial and temporal variation of dissolved inorganic radiocarbon in the East Sea. Five vertical profiles of radiocarbon values were obtained from samples collected in 1999 in three basins (Japan Basin, Ulleung Basin, Yamato Basin) of the East Sea. Radiocarbon values decreased from 63- 85‰ at the surface to about -50‰ with increasing depth (up to 2,000 m) and were nearly constant in the layer deeper than 2,000 m in all basins. Radiocarbon values did not show significant basin-to-basin differences in the surface and the bottom layers. In the intermediate layer (200-2,000 m), however, they decreased in the order of Japan Basin > Ulleung Basin > Yamato Basin, which is consistent with the suggested circulation pattern in the intermediate layer of the East Sea. Radiocarbon was found to have decreased at ~2%/year in the surface water of the East Sea. In contrast, in the interior of the East Sea, radiocarbon values have increased with time in all three basins. In the Central Water, the annual increase rate was about 3.3‰, which is faster than the rates in the Deep and Bottom Waters. The radiocarbon in the Deep and Bottom Waters had increased until mid-1990s, after which time it has been almost constant.