A Research on the Benthic Ecology Environment, Antarctic Ocean: I. Maxwell Bay and Admiralty Bay

• Main Authors: Xianhao, Cheng, Yonghong, Wang, Weiping, Xia, Haisheng, Zhang
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Polar Research Institute of China - PRIC 1993
• Subjects: Admiralty Bay; Antarctic; Antarctic Ocean; Maxwell Bay; Advances in Polar Science; Antarc*; Polar Science
• Online Access: http://library.arcticportal.org/2062/; http://library.arcticportal.org/2062/1/A199301007.pdf

Analyzing the information on benthic organism and geochemistry, obtained from the Chinese First Expedition on Antarctic Ocean and its succeeded works and comparing with that of other oceans, this paper shows that in the circumstances of the researched area benthic organisms are rich. However, the prodsperity of the organisms is limited below 5 - 10 cm of the profiles in which the environment is mainly dominated by sulfate reducing reaction. On the condition of low temperature in Antarctic Ocean, the solubility of carbonates is higher than that of other latitudes of oceans, but the concentration of calcium in overlying water and pore water of the benthic environment is not higher than that in the other oceans, which results in the difficulty for the crustaceas and mollusks to obtain sufficient calcium carbonate to form their solid shell as well as to bring about the lower ratios of these animals both in abundance and biomass in the researched ocean. Furthermore, there is a positive relationship between the distribution of sedentary polychaeres and temperature in overlying waters. That might demonstrate that the animals had still not quite adopted to the bitterly cold of Antarctic Ocean. Besides, research proposes that although there is no microorganism being detected below the depth of 5 cm in M6 station, there happens sulfate reducing reaction, so at least there should be sulfate respiring bacteria existed below the depth.