Physical and biological properties of early winter Antarctic sea ice in the Ross Sea

• Published in: Annals of Glaciology
• Main Authors: Tison, Jean-Louis, Maksym, Ted, Fraser, Alexander D., Corkill, Matthew, Kimura, Noriaki, Nosaka, Yuichi, Nomura, Daiki, Vancoppenolle, M., Ackley, Steve, Stammerjohn, Sharon, Wauthy, Sarah, van Der Linden, Fanny, Carnat, Gauthier, Sapart, Célia, de Jong, Jeroen, Fripiat, François, Delille, Bruno
• Other Authors: Laboratoire de Glaciologie Bruxelles, Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB), Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI), Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies Hobart (IMAS), University of Tasmania Hobart, Australia (UTAS), Antarctic Climate and Ecosystems Cooperative Research Centre (ACE-CRC), Atmosphere and Ocean Research Institute Kashiwa-shi (AORI), The University of Tokyo (UTokyo), Faculty of Fisheries Sciences Hakodate, Hokkaido University Sapporo, Japan, Nucleus for European Modeling of the Ocean (NEMO R&D ), Laboratoire d'Océanographie et du Climat : Expérimentations et Approches Numériques (LOCEAN), Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle (MNHN)-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Sorbonne Université (SU)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut Pierre-Simon-Laplace (IPSL (FR_636)), École normale supérieure - Paris (ENS-PSL), Université Paris Sciences et Lettres (PSL)-Université Paris Sciences et Lettres (PSL)-Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines (UVSQ)-Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-École polytechnique (X)-Centre National d'Études Spatiales Toulouse (CNES)-Sorbonne Université (SU)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Paris Cité (UPCité)-École normale supérieure - Paris (ENS-PSL), Université Paris Sciences et Lettres (PSL)-Université Paris Sciences et Lettres (PSL)-Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines (UVSQ)-Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA)-École polytechnique (X)-Centre National d'Études Spatiales Toulouse (CNES)-Sorbonne Université (SU)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Paris Cité (UPCité)-Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle (MNHN)-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Sorbonne Université (SU)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut Pierre-Simon-Laplace (IPSL (FR_636)), Université Paris Sciences et Lettres (PSL)-Université Paris Sciences et Lettres (PSL)-Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines (UVSQ)-Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA)-École polytechnique (X)-Centre National d'Études Spatiales Toulouse (CNES)-Sorbonne Université (SU)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Paris Cité (UPCité), Department of Geological Sciences Austin, Jackson School of Geosciences (JSG), University of Texas at Austin Austin -University of Texas at Austin Austin, Institute of Arctic Alpine Research University of Colorado Boulder (INSTAAR), University of Colorado Boulder, Unité d'Océanographie Chimique, Interfacultary Center for Marine Research (MARE), Université de Liège-Université de Liège
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: HAL CCSD 2020
• Subjects: Antarctic glaciology; biogeochemistry; sea ice; [SDU.STU.GL]Sciences of the Universe [physics]/Earth Sciences/Glaciology; Annals of Glaciology; Antarc*; Antarctic; Ross Sea; Sea ice; Weddell Sea
• Online Access: https://hal.science/hal-03030790; https://hal.science/hal-03030790/document; https://hal.science/hal-03030790/file/Tison_et_al_AG20_ross_sea_seaice.pdf; https://doi.org/10.1017/aog.2020.43

International audience This work presents the results of physical and biological investigations at 27 biogeochemical stations of early winter sea ice in the Ross Sea during the 2017 PIPERS cruise. Only two similar cruises occurred in the past, in 1995 and 1998. The year 2017 was a specific year, in that ice growth in the Central Ross Sea was considerably delayed, compared to previous years. These conditions resulted in lower ice thicknesses and Chl-a burdens, as compared to those observed during the previous cruises. It also resulted in a different structure of the sympagic algal community, unusually dominated by Phaeocystis rather than diatoms. Compared to autumn-winter sea ice in the Weddell Sea (AWECS cruise), the 2017 Ross Sea pack ice displayed similar thickness distribution, but much lower snow cover and therefore nearly no flooding conditions. It is shown that contrasted dynamics of autumnal-winter sea-ice growth between the Weddell Sea and the Ross Sea impacted the development of the sympagic community. Mean/median ice Chl-a concentrations were 3-5 times lower at PIPERS, and the community status there appeared to be more mature (decaying?), based on Phaeopigments/Chl-a ratios. These contrasts are discussed in the light of temporal and spatial differences between the two cruises.