Evidence for iceberg fertilization of the NW Atlantic
Icebergs are known to have a significant fertilizing impact on primary productivity in the Southern Ocean, but this link is yet to be investigated in the Northern Hemisphere. This study combines sightings of icebergs with satellite-derived ocean colour data from 1998 to 2015, to seek such a relation...
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ftcopernicus:oai:publications.copernicus.org:osd95783 2023-05-15T18:24:54+02:00 Evidence for iceberg fertilization of the NW Atlantic Bigg, Grant Robert Jutard, Quentin Marsh, Robert 2021-08-09 application/pdf https://doi.org/10.5194/os-2021-61 https://os.copernicus.org/preprints/os-2021-61/ eng eng doi:10.5194/os-2021-61 https://os.copernicus.org/preprints/os-2021-61/ eISSN: 1812-0792 Text 2021 ftcopernicus https://doi.org/10.5194/os-2021-61 2021-08-16T16:22:29Z Icebergs are known to have a significant fertilizing impact on primary productivity in the Southern Ocean, but this link is yet to be investigated in the Northern Hemisphere. This study combines sightings of icebergs with satellite-derived ocean colour data from 1998 to 2015, to seek such a relationship in the NW Atlantic. Despite the obscuring coincidence of the seasonal iceberg flux with the spring bloom of chlorophyll, it is shown that there is a large-scale, one-month-lagged regional correlation between iceberg flux and chlorophyll levels. In addition, a spatial time-lag analysis is consistent with the main cause for the iceberg-chlorophyll relationship being through advection of the nutrients entrained in iceberg meltwater. This leads to a delayed fertilization response of 2–4 weeks. There are a range of possible sources for the nutrients likely leading to this delayed response. The Northern Hemisphere impact of iceberg meltwater on primary production is much less pronounced than in the Southern Ocean, but it is discernible. Text Southern Ocean Copernicus Publications: E-Journals Southern Ocean |
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Copernicus Publications: E-Journals |
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ftcopernicus |
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English |
description |
Icebergs are known to have a significant fertilizing impact on primary productivity in the Southern Ocean, but this link is yet to be investigated in the Northern Hemisphere. This study combines sightings of icebergs with satellite-derived ocean colour data from 1998 to 2015, to seek such a relationship in the NW Atlantic. Despite the obscuring coincidence of the seasonal iceberg flux with the spring bloom of chlorophyll, it is shown that there is a large-scale, one-month-lagged regional correlation between iceberg flux and chlorophyll levels. In addition, a spatial time-lag analysis is consistent with the main cause for the iceberg-chlorophyll relationship being through advection of the nutrients entrained in iceberg meltwater. This leads to a delayed fertilization response of 2–4 weeks. There are a range of possible sources for the nutrients likely leading to this delayed response. The Northern Hemisphere impact of iceberg meltwater on primary production is much less pronounced than in the Southern Ocean, but it is discernible. |
format |
Text |
author |
Bigg, Grant Robert Jutard, Quentin Marsh, Robert |
spellingShingle |
Bigg, Grant Robert Jutard, Quentin Marsh, Robert Evidence for iceberg fertilization of the NW Atlantic |
author_facet |
Bigg, Grant Robert Jutard, Quentin Marsh, Robert |
author_sort |
Bigg, Grant Robert |
title |
Evidence for iceberg fertilization of the NW Atlantic |
title_short |
Evidence for iceberg fertilization of the NW Atlantic |
title_full |
Evidence for iceberg fertilization of the NW Atlantic |
title_fullStr |
Evidence for iceberg fertilization of the NW Atlantic |
title_full_unstemmed |
Evidence for iceberg fertilization of the NW Atlantic |
title_sort |
evidence for iceberg fertilization of the nw atlantic |
publishDate |
2021 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.5194/os-2021-61 https://os.copernicus.org/preprints/os-2021-61/ |
geographic |
Southern Ocean |
geographic_facet |
Southern Ocean |
genre |
Southern Ocean |
genre_facet |
Southern Ocean |
op_source |
eISSN: 1812-0792 |
op_relation |
doi:10.5194/os-2021-61 https://os.copernicus.org/preprints/os-2021-61/ |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.5194/os-2021-61 |
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1766205920787824640 |