Physical oceanography and meteorological measurements in Potter Cove, King George Island, West Antarctic Peninsula during austral summer 2010/2011, supplement to: Monien, Donata; Monien, Patrick; Brünjes, Robert; Widmer, Tatjana; Kappenberg, Arne; Silva-Busso, Adrian A; Schnetger, Bernhard; Brumsack, Hans-Jürgen (2017): Meltwater as a source of potentially bioavailable iron to Antarctica waters. Antarctic Science, 1-15

Recent rapid retreat of glacial front lines and the loss of land ice along the Antarctic margins may play an important role in exporting suspended particulate matter (SPM) potentially rich in bioavailable (defined as ascorbate leachable) iron (FeA) to coastal areas of the Southern Ocean. Sediment ab...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Monien, Donata, Monien, Patrick, Brünjes, Robert, Widmer, Tatjana, Kappenberg, Arne, Silva-Busso, Adrian A, Schnetger, Bernhard, Brumsack, Hans-Jürgen
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: PANGAEA - Data Publisher for Earth & Environmental Science 2017
Subjects:
Impact of climate induced glacier melt on marine coastal systems, Antarctica IMCOAST/IMCONet
Antarctic
Southern Ocean
The Antarctic
Antarctic Peninsula
Austral
King George Island
Potter Cove
Bransfield Strait
Antarc*
Antarctica
Iceberg*
Online Access:https://dx.doi.org/10.1594/pangaea.871606
https://doi.pangaea.de/10.1594/PANGAEA.871606
Description
Summary:Recent rapid retreat of glacial front lines and the loss of land ice along the Antarctic margins may play an important role in exporting suspended particulate matter (SPM) potentially rich in bioavailable (defined as ascorbate leachable) iron (FeA) to coastal areas of the Southern Ocean. Sediment ablation is an additional source of iron for this high-nutrient low-chlorophyll region. In Potter Cove, King George Island, meltwater streams discharge up to 18 000 mg/l (average 283 mg/l) of slightly weathered, finely ground bedrock particles into coastal waters during the summer. Approximately 15% of this SPM is exported within a low-salinity surface plume into Bransfield Strait. Based on our data, an estimated 12 mg/m**2/yr of FeA is exported from the South Shetland Island land surface (ice-free and subglacial areas) to the surrounding coastal waters. Extrapolated to an area of 2.5x104 km**2, this FeA input is comparable to the contribution from icebergs and c. 240-fold higher than aeolian input via dust. An observed rise in local sediment accumulation rates suggests that glacial erosion has been increasing over recent decades and that (sub-)glacially derived SPM is becoming more important as a source of iron to the Southern Ocean.

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