Sea-ice derived meltwater stratification slows the biological carbon pump: results from continuous observations

Abstract The ocean moderates the world’s climate through absorption of heat and carbon, but how much carbon the ocean will continue to absorb remains unknown. The North Atlantic Ocean west (Baffin Bay/Labrador Sea) and east (Fram Strait/Greenland Sea) of Greenland features the most intense absorptio...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Nature Communications
Main Authors: von Appen, Wilken-Jon, Waite, Anya M., Bergmann, Melanie, Bienhold, Christina, Boebel, Olaf, Bracher, Astrid, Cisewski, Boris, Hagemann, Jonas, Hoppema, Mario, Iversen, Morten H., Konrad, Christian, Krumpen, Thomas, Lochthofen, Normen, Metfies, Katja, Niehoff, Barbara, Nöthig, Eva-Maria, Purser, Autun, Salter, Ian, Schaber, Matthias, Scholz, Daniel, Soltwedel, Thomas, Torres-Valdes, Sinhue, Wekerle, Claudia, Wenzhöfer, Frank, Wietz, Matthias, Boetius, Antje
Other Authors: Ocean Frontier Institute, Helmholtz Association
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: Springer Science and Business Media LLC 2021
Subjects:
General Physics and Astronomy
General Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology
General Chemistry
Arctic
Baffin Bay
Greenland
Baffin
Fram Strait
Greenland Sea
Labrador Sea
North Atlantic
Sea ice
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41467-021-26943-z
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-021-26943-z.pdf
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-021-26943-z
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Summary:Abstract The ocean moderates the world’s climate through absorption of heat and carbon, but how much carbon the ocean will continue to absorb remains unknown. The North Atlantic Ocean west (Baffin Bay/Labrador Sea) and east (Fram Strait/Greenland Sea) of Greenland features the most intense absorption of anthropogenic carbon globally; the biological carbon pump (BCP) contributes substantially. As Arctic sea-ice melts, the BCP changes, impacting global climate and other critical ocean attributes (e.g. biodiversity). Full understanding requires year-round observations across a range of ice conditions. Here we present such observations: autonomously collected Eulerian continuous 24-month time-series in Fram Strait. We show that, compared to ice-unaffected conditions, sea-ice derived meltwater stratification slows the BCP by 4 months, a shift from an export to a retention system, with measurable impacts on benthic communities. This has implications for ecosystem dynamics in the future warmer Arctic where the seasonal ice zone is expected to expand.

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