Autumn Bloom of Antarctic Pack-Ice Algae

An autumn bloom of sea-ice algae was observed from February to June of 1992 within the upper 0.4 meter of multiyear ice in the Western Weddell Sea, Antarctica. The bloom was reliant on the freezing of porous areas within the ice that initiated a vertical exchange of nutrient-depleted brine with nutr...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Science
Main Authors: Fritsen, C. H., Lytle, V. I., Ackley, S. F., Sullivan, C. W.
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) 1994
Subjects:
Multidisciplinary
Antarc*
Antarctic
Antarctica
ice algae
Sea ice
Weddell Sea
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.266.5186.782
https://www.science.org/doi/pdf/10.1126/science.266.5186.782
Description
Summary:An autumn bloom of sea-ice algae was observed from February to June of 1992 within the upper 0.4 meter of multiyear ice in the Western Weddell Sea, Antarctica. The bloom was reliant on the freezing of porous areas within the ice that initiated a vertical exchange of nutrient-depleted brine with nutrient-rich seawater. This replenishment of nutrients to the algal community allowed the net production of 1760 milligrams of carbon and 200 milligrams of nitrogen per square meter of ice. The location of this autumn bloom is unlike that of spring blooms previously observed in both polar regions.

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