Surface water properties, phytoplankton composition and photosynthesis rates of Amundsen Sea sites ...

• Main Authors: Alderkamp, Anne-Carlijn, Mills, Matthew M, van Dijken, Gert L, Laan, Patrick, Thuróczy, Charles-Edouard, Gerringa, Loes J A, de Baar, Hein J W, Payne, Christopher D, Visser, Ronald J W, Buma, Anita G J, Arrigo, Kevin R
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: PANGAEA 2012
• Subjects: Water sample; NBP0901; Nathaniel B. Palmer; International Polar Year 2007-2008 IPY; Amundsen Sea; Island Bay; Pine Island Bay; Pine Island Glacier; Antarc*; Antarctica; Ice Shelves; International Polar Year; IPY; Pine Island; Sea ice
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.1594/pangaea.806489; https://doi.pangaea.de/10.1594/PANGAEA.806489

The phytoplankton community composition and productivity in waters of the Amundsen Sea and surrounding sea ice zone were characterized with respect to iron (Fe) input from melting glaciers. High Fe input from glaciers such as the Pine Island Glacier, and the Dotson and Crosson ice shelves resulted in dense phytoplankton blooms in surface waters of Pine Island Bay, Pine Island Polynya, and Amundsen Polynya. Phytoplankton biomass distribution was the opposite of the distribution of dissolved Fe (DFe), confirming the uptake of glacial DFe in surface waters by phytoplankton. Phytoplankton biomass in the polynyas ranged from 0.6 to 14 µg Chl a / L, with lower biomass at glacier sites where strong upwelling of Modified Circumpolar Deep Water from beneath glacier tongues was observed. Phytoplankton blooms in the polynyas were dominated by the haptophyte Phaeocystis antarctica, whereas the phytoplankton community in the sea ice zone was a mix of P. antarctica and diatoms, resembling the species distribution in the ... : Data extracted in the frame of a joint ICSTI/PANGAEA IPY effort, see http://doi.pangaea.de/10.1594/PANGAEA.150150 ...