A carbon budget for the Amundsen Sea Polynya, Antarctica: Estimating net community production and export in a highly productive polar ecosystem
Abstract Polynyas, or recurring areas of seasonally open water surrounded by sea ice, are foci for energy and material transfer between the atmosphere and the polar ocean. They are also climate sensitive, with both sea ice extent and glacial melt influencing their productivity. The Amundsen Sea Poly...
Published in: | Elementa: Science of the Anthropocene |
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Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.12952/journal.elementa.000140 https://doaj.org/article/c2eb8c25520449eaaa7faefb70e8da05 |
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:c2eb8c25520449eaaa7faefb70e8da05 2023-05-15T13:23:52+02:00 A carbon budget for the Amundsen Sea Polynya, Antarctica: Estimating net community production and export in a highly productive polar ecosystem PL Yager RM Sherrell SE Stammerjohn HW Ducklow OME Schofield ED Ingall SE Wilson KE Lowry CM Williams L Riemann S Bertilsson A-C Alderkamp J Dinasquet R Logares I Richert RE Sipler AJ Melara L Mu RG Newstead AF Post R Swalethorp GL van Dijken 2016-12-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.12952/journal.elementa.000140 https://doaj.org/article/c2eb8c25520449eaaa7faefb70e8da05 EN eng BioOne http://elementascience.org/article/info:doi/10.12952/journal.elementa.000140 https://doaj.org/toc/2325-1026 2325-1026 doi:10.12952/journal.elementa.000140 https://doaj.org/article/c2eb8c25520449eaaa7faefb70e8da05 Elementa: Science of the Anthropocene (2016) polynya biological pump climate change Environmental sciences GE1-350 article 2016 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.12952/journal.elementa.000140 2022-12-31T02:46:51Z Abstract Polynyas, or recurring areas of seasonally open water surrounded by sea ice, are foci for energy and material transfer between the atmosphere and the polar ocean. They are also climate sensitive, with both sea ice extent and glacial melt influencing their productivity. The Amundsen Sea Polynya (ASP) is the greenest polynya in the Southern Ocean, with summertime chlorophyll a concentrations exceeding 20 µg L−1. During the Amundsen Sea Polynya International Research Expedition (ASPIRE) in austral summer 2010–11, we aimed to determine the fate of this high algal productivity. We collected water column profiles for total dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) and nutrients, particulate and dissolved organic matter, chlorophyll a, mesozooplankton, and microbial biomass to make a carbon budget for this ecosystem. We also measured primary and secondary production, community respiration rates, vertical particle flux and fecal pellet production and grazing. With observations arranged along a gradient of increasing integrated dissolved inorganic nitrogen drawdown (ΔDIN; 0.027–0.74 mol N m−2), changes in DIC in the upper water column (ranging from 0.2 to 4.7 mol C m−2) and gas exchange (0–1.7 mol C m−2) were combined to estimate early season net community production (sNCP; 0.2–5.9 mol C m−2) and then compared to organic matter inventories to estimate export. From a phytoplankton bloom dominated by Phaeocystis antarctica, a high fraction (up to ∼60%) of sNCP was exported to sub-euphotic depths. Microbial respiration remineralized much of this export in the mid waters. Comparisons to short-term (2–3 days) drifting traps and a year-long moored sediment trap capturing the downward flux confirmed that a relatively high fraction (3–6%) of the export from ∼100 m made it through the mid waters to depth. We discuss the climate-sensitive nature of these carbon fluxes, in light of the changing sea ice cover and melting ice sheets in the region. Article in Journal/Newspaper Amundsen Sea Antarc* Antarctica Mesozooplankton Sea ice Southern Ocean Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Southern Ocean Austral Amundsen Sea Elementa: Science of the Anthropocene 4 000140 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
polynya biological pump climate change Environmental sciences GE1-350 |
spellingShingle |
polynya biological pump climate change Environmental sciences GE1-350 PL Yager RM Sherrell SE Stammerjohn HW Ducklow OME Schofield ED Ingall SE Wilson KE Lowry CM Williams L Riemann S Bertilsson A-C Alderkamp J Dinasquet R Logares I Richert RE Sipler AJ Melara L Mu RG Newstead AF Post R Swalethorp GL van Dijken A carbon budget for the Amundsen Sea Polynya, Antarctica: Estimating net community production and export in a highly productive polar ecosystem |
topic_facet |
polynya biological pump climate change Environmental sciences GE1-350 |
description |
Abstract Polynyas, or recurring areas of seasonally open water surrounded by sea ice, are foci for energy and material transfer between the atmosphere and the polar ocean. They are also climate sensitive, with both sea ice extent and glacial melt influencing their productivity. The Amundsen Sea Polynya (ASP) is the greenest polynya in the Southern Ocean, with summertime chlorophyll a concentrations exceeding 20 µg L−1. During the Amundsen Sea Polynya International Research Expedition (ASPIRE) in austral summer 2010–11, we aimed to determine the fate of this high algal productivity. We collected water column profiles for total dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) and nutrients, particulate and dissolved organic matter, chlorophyll a, mesozooplankton, and microbial biomass to make a carbon budget for this ecosystem. We also measured primary and secondary production, community respiration rates, vertical particle flux and fecal pellet production and grazing. With observations arranged along a gradient of increasing integrated dissolved inorganic nitrogen drawdown (ΔDIN; 0.027–0.74 mol N m−2), changes in DIC in the upper water column (ranging from 0.2 to 4.7 mol C m−2) and gas exchange (0–1.7 mol C m−2) were combined to estimate early season net community production (sNCP; 0.2–5.9 mol C m−2) and then compared to organic matter inventories to estimate export. From a phytoplankton bloom dominated by Phaeocystis antarctica, a high fraction (up to ∼60%) of sNCP was exported to sub-euphotic depths. Microbial respiration remineralized much of this export in the mid waters. Comparisons to short-term (2–3 days) drifting traps and a year-long moored sediment trap capturing the downward flux confirmed that a relatively high fraction (3–6%) of the export from ∼100 m made it through the mid waters to depth. We discuss the climate-sensitive nature of these carbon fluxes, in light of the changing sea ice cover and melting ice sheets in the region. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
PL Yager RM Sherrell SE Stammerjohn HW Ducklow OME Schofield ED Ingall SE Wilson KE Lowry CM Williams L Riemann S Bertilsson A-C Alderkamp J Dinasquet R Logares I Richert RE Sipler AJ Melara L Mu RG Newstead AF Post R Swalethorp GL van Dijken |
author_facet |
PL Yager RM Sherrell SE Stammerjohn HW Ducklow OME Schofield ED Ingall SE Wilson KE Lowry CM Williams L Riemann S Bertilsson A-C Alderkamp J Dinasquet R Logares I Richert RE Sipler AJ Melara L Mu RG Newstead AF Post R Swalethorp GL van Dijken |
author_sort |
PL Yager |
title |
A carbon budget for the Amundsen Sea Polynya, Antarctica: Estimating net community production and export in a highly productive polar ecosystem |
title_short |
A carbon budget for the Amundsen Sea Polynya, Antarctica: Estimating net community production and export in a highly productive polar ecosystem |
title_full |
A carbon budget for the Amundsen Sea Polynya, Antarctica: Estimating net community production and export in a highly productive polar ecosystem |
title_fullStr |
A carbon budget for the Amundsen Sea Polynya, Antarctica: Estimating net community production and export in a highly productive polar ecosystem |
title_full_unstemmed |
A carbon budget for the Amundsen Sea Polynya, Antarctica: Estimating net community production and export in a highly productive polar ecosystem |
title_sort |
carbon budget for the amundsen sea polynya, antarctica: estimating net community production and export in a highly productive polar ecosystem |
publisher |
BioOne |
publishDate |
2016 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.12952/journal.elementa.000140 https://doaj.org/article/c2eb8c25520449eaaa7faefb70e8da05 |
geographic |
Southern Ocean Austral Amundsen Sea |
geographic_facet |
Southern Ocean Austral Amundsen Sea |
genre |
Amundsen Sea Antarc* Antarctica Mesozooplankton Sea ice Southern Ocean |
genre_facet |
Amundsen Sea Antarc* Antarctica Mesozooplankton Sea ice Southern Ocean |
op_source |
Elementa: Science of the Anthropocene (2016) |
op_relation |
http://elementascience.org/article/info:doi/10.12952/journal.elementa.000140 https://doaj.org/toc/2325-1026 2325-1026 doi:10.12952/journal.elementa.000140 https://doaj.org/article/c2eb8c25520449eaaa7faefb70e8da05 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.12952/journal.elementa.000140 |
container_title |
Elementa: Science of the Anthropocene |
container_volume |
4 |
container_start_page |
000140 |
_version_ |
1766375990221602816 |