Holocene productivity changes off Adélie Land (East Antarctica)

• Published in: Paleoceanography
• Main Authors: Denis, Delphine, Crosta, Xavier, Schmidt, Sabine, Carson, Damien, Ganeshram, Raja, Renssen, Hans, Crespin, Julien, Ther, Olivier, Billy, Isabelle, Giraudeau, Jacques
• Other Authors: UMR 5805 Environnements et Paléoenvironnements Océaniques et Continentaux (EPOC), Observatoire aquitain des sciences de l'univers (OASU), Université Sciences et Technologies - Bordeaux 1-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Sciences et Technologies - Bordeaux 1-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-École pratique des hautes études (EPHE), Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Grant Institute, University of Edinburgh, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam Amsterdam (VU), Department of Earth and Planetary Science Rehovot, Weizmann Institute of Science Rehovot, Israël
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: HAL CCSD 2009
• Subjects: [SDU.OCEAN]Sciences of the Universe [physics]/Ocean; Atmosphere; [SDU.STU.OC]Sciences of the Universe [physics]/Earth Sciences/Oceanography; [SDU.STU.CL]Sciences of the Universe [physics]/Earth Sciences/Climatology; Antarctic; East Antarctica; The Antarctic; Antarc*; Antarctica; Sea ice
• Online Access: https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-02105667; https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-02105667/document; https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-02105667/file/Denis_Paleocean2009.pdf; https://doi.org/10.1029/2008PA001689

International audience This study presents the first high-resolution multiproxy investigation of primary productivity (PP) during the Holocene from the Antarctic continental margins. Micropaleontological and geochemical data from the sediment core MD03-2601, associated to sea ice model outputs, give unprecedented insights into the biological pump of the Antarctic coastal area off Adélie Land in response to climatic changes. Plurimillennial and millennial changes of PP are observed in the study area in response to changes in nutrient availability, stratification, and growing season duration, which are linked to sea ice, upwelling, wind, and glacier dynamics. The precessional cycle seems to be responsible in the PP long-term variations, while forcing factors involved at the millennial timescale remain more enigmatic. Our results emphasize enhanced biological pump during warmer and windier Holocene phases because of a longer growing season and greater nutrient input. Antarctic coastal and continental shelf zones may therefore represent a more intense carbon sink in the future.