Phytoplankton Community Structure and the Drawdown of Nutrients and CO 2 in the Southern Ocean

Data from recent oceanographic cruises show that phytoplankton community structure in the Ross Sea is related to mixed layer depth. Diatoms dominate in highly stratified waters, whereas Phaeocystis antarctica assemblages dominate where waters are more deeply mixed. The drawdown of both carbon dioxid...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Science
Main Authors: Arrigo, Kevin R., Robinson, Dale H., Worthen, Denise L., Dunbar, Robert B., DiTullio, Giacomo R., VanWoert, Michael, Lizotte, Michael P.
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) 1999
Subjects:
Ross Sea
Southern Ocean
Antarc*
Antarctica
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.283.5400.365
https://www.science.org/doi/pdf/10.1126/science.283.5400.365
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Summary:Data from recent oceanographic cruises show that phytoplankton community structure in the Ross Sea is related to mixed layer depth. Diatoms dominate in highly stratified waters, whereas Phaeocystis antarctica assemblages dominate where waters are more deeply mixed. The drawdown of both carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) and nitrate per mole of phosphate and the rate of new production by diatoms are much lower than that measured for P. antarctica . Consequently, the capacity of the biological community to draw down atmospheric CO 2 and transport it to the deep ocean could diminish dramatically if predicted increases in upper ocean stratification due to climate warming should occur.

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