Wind-driven upwelling of iron sustains dense blooms and food webs in the eastern Weddell Gyre

• Published in: Nature Communications
• Main Authors: Sebastien Moreau, Tore Hattermann, Laura de Steur, Hanna M. Kauko, Heidi Ahonen, Murat Ardelan, Philipp Assmy, Melissa Chierici, Sebastien Descamps, Tilman Dinter, Tone Falkenhaug, Agneta Fransson, Eirik Grønningsæter, Elvar H. Hallfredsson, Oliver Huhn, Anais Lebrun, Andrew Lowther, Nico Lübcker, Pedro Monteiro, Ilka Peeken, Alakendra Roychoudhury, Magdalena Różańska, Thomas Ryan-Keogh, Nicolas Sanchez, Asmita Singh, Jan Henrik Simonsen, Nadine Steiger, Sandy J. Thomalla, Andre van Tonder, Jozef M. Wiktor, Harald Steen
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Nature Portfolio 2023
• Subjects: Science; Q; Southern Ocean; Weddell; Sea ice
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-36992-1; https://doaj.org/article/c4c9e6ae595d4b25bde3046024c97c18

This study reports a dense, late summer phytoplankton bloom in the Southern Ocean that accumulated unusually high levels of organic matter and supported feeding hot spots for birds and whales. The authors show that this recurring open ocean bloom is driven by anomalies in easterly winds that push sea ice southwards and favour the upwelling of deep waters enriched in hydrothermal iron.