Annual cycles of sea ice, wind and primary productivity in the Cape Bathurst and Saint Lawrence Island Polynyas, 1998-2015

• Main Author: Scott, Warren T.
• Format: Text
• Language: unknown
• Published: Clark Digital Commons 2017
• Subjects: Environmental science; Geographic information science and geodesy; Biology; Arctic; Cape Bathurst; Lawrence Island; Phytoplankton; Sea ice
• Online Access: https://commons.clarku.edu/geography_masters_papers/2; http://gateway.proquest.com/openurl?url_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:dissertation&res_dat=xri:pqm&rft_dat=xri:pqdiss:10617824

The Northern Hemisphere and the Arctic have experienced drastic increases in average surface temperature, with implications of this warming being realized in the Arctic marine ecosystem. In this study, sea ice variability, wind direction and magnitude, and sea surface temperature were examined to glean insight into the drivers of phytoplankton bloom variability in the Cape Bathurst (CBP) and Saint Lawrence Island (SLIP) polynyas. Statistically significant trends in the occurrence frequencies of storm events as well as in shifts of wind directionality were found in the SLIP. Metrics of phytoplankton bloom phenology such as onset, duration, and amplitude were examined to gain insight into the interannual variability of phytoplankton bloom dynamics. Some explanatory relationships were found between bloom duration and sea surface temperature in defining conditions necessary for a secondary fall bloom in the SLIP and CBP.