Oxygen exchange and ice melt measured at the ice-water interface by eddy correlation
This study examined fluxes across the ice-water interface utilizing the eddy correlation technique. Temperature eddy correlation systems were used to determine rates of ice melting and freezing, and O 2 eddy correlation systems were used to examine O 2 exchange rates driven by biological and physica...
| Published in: | Biogeosciences |
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| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
| Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Copernicus Publications
2012
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-9-1957-2012 https://doaj.org/article/48dd2fbdcad642a390a7844d71fce476 |
| Summary: | This study examined fluxes across the ice-water interface utilizing the eddy correlation technique. Temperature eddy correlation systems were used to determine rates of ice melting and freezing, and O 2 eddy correlation systems were used to examine O 2 exchange rates driven by biological and physical processes. The study was conducted below 0.7 m thick sea-ice in mid-March 2010 in a southwest Greenland fjord and revealed low rates of ice melt at a maximum of 0.80 mm d −1 . The O 2 flux associated with release of O 2 depleted melt water was less than 13 % of the average daily O 2 respiration rate. Ice melt and insufficient vertical turbulent mixing due to low current velocities caused periodic stratification immediately below the ice. This prevented the determination of fluxes 61 % of the deployment time. These time intervals were identified by examining the velocity and the linearity and stability of the cumulative flux. The examination of unstratified conditions through vertical velocity and O 2 spectra and their cospectra revealed characteristic fingerprints of well-developed turbulence. From the measured O 2 fluxes a photosynthesis/irradiance curve was established by least-squares fitting. This relation showed that light limitation of net photosynthesis began at 4.2 μmol photons m −2 s −1 , and that algal communities were well-adapted to low-light conditions as they were light saturated for 75 % of the day during this early spring period. However, the sea-ice associated microbial and algal community was net heterotrophic with a daily gross primary production of 0.69 mmol O 2 m −2 d −1 and a respiration rate of −2.13 mmol O 2 m −2 d −1 leading to a net ecosystem metabolism of −1.45 mmol O 2 m −2 d −1 . This application of the eddy correlation technique produced high temporal resolution O 2 fluxes and ice melt rates that were measured without disturbing the in situ environmental conditions while integrating over an area of approximately 50 m 2 which incorporated the highly variable activity and spatial ... |
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