Observations of anticyclonic eddies in the western subarctic North Pacific

We conducted a ship observation of two anticyclonic mesoscale eddies (Eddies A and B) between June and July 2016 in the offshore region of the western subarctic North Pacific to clarify the impact of anticyclonic eddies on biological production. Analysis of satellite data reveals that Eddy A formed south of the Alaskan Peninsula on May 2011 while Eddy B formed in the observation area on November 2015. Iron concentration was low both inside and outside Eddies A and B, and there were no large differences between chlorophyll a (chl- a ) concentration inside and outside eddies. Satellite-derived chl- a concentration inside Eddy A had been high compared with that in the surrounding area when the eddy was located along the Aleutian Islands and just after it detached from the islands, suggesting that iron originating from the coastal region was consumed during the two-year journey from the coastal region to the observation area. Field measurements also reveal that vertical diffusivity was low both inside and outside Eddies A and B, which could be another factor underlying low iron both inside and outside Eddies A and B and small differences between chl- a concentration inside and outside the eddies.