Recent Changes in Phytoplankton Communities Associated with Rapid Regional Climate Change Along the Western Antarctic Peninsula

• Published in: Science
• Main Authors: Montes-Hugo, Martin, Doney, Scott C., Ducklow, Hugh W., Fraser, William, Martinson, Douglas, Stammerjohn, Sharon E., Schofield, Oscar
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) 2009
• Subjects: Antarctic; The Antarctic; Antarctic Peninsula; Western Shelf; Antarc*; Euphausia superba
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.1164533; https://www.science.org/doi/pdf/10.1126/science.1164533

The climate of the western shelf of the Antarctic Peninsula (WAP) is undergoing a transition from a cold-dry polar-type climate to a warm-humid sub-Antarctic–type climate. Using three decades of satellite and field data, we document that ocean biological productivity, inferred from chlorophyll a concentration (Chl a), has significantly changed along the WAP shelf. Summertime surface Chl a (summer integrated Chl a ∼63% of annually integrated Chl a) declined by 12% along the WAP over the past 30 years, with the largest decreases equatorward of 63°S and with substantial increases in Chl a occurring farther south. The latitudinal variation in Chl a trends reflects shifting patterns of ice cover, cloud formation, and windiness affecting water-column mixing. Regional changes in phytoplankton coincide with observed changes in krill ( Euphausia superba ) and penguin populations.