Icebergs boost phytoplankton growth in the Southern Ocean

Icebergs which calve from the Antarctic ice shelves and drift in the Southern Ocean deliver fresh water, dust and minerogenic particles to the surface ocean along the iceberg's path. Each of these components may have an effect on growth conditions for phytoplankton, as might the mechanical...

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Main Authors: Jill N. Schwarz, Michael P. Schodlok
Format: Manuscript
Language:unknown
Published: 2008
Subjects:
Online Access:http://precedings.nature.com/documents/1706/version/1
http://hdl.handle.net/10101/npre.2008.1706.1
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spelling ftnature:oai:nature.com:10101/npre.2008.1706.1 2023-05-15T13:46:06+02:00 Icebergs boost phytoplankton growth in the Southern Ocean Jill N. Schwarz Michael P. Schodlok 2008-03-21T10:16:26Z http://precedings.nature.com/documents/1706/version/1 http://hdl.handle.net/10101/npre.2008.1706.1 unknown Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License CC-BY Nature Precedings Earth & Environment Manuscript 2008 ftnature 2015-11-19T12:55:14Z Icebergs which calve from the Antarctic ice shelves and drift in the Southern Ocean deliver fresh water, dust and minerogenic particles to the surface ocean along the iceberg's path. Each of these components may have an effect on growth conditions for phytoplankton, as might the mechanical effects of the iceberg keel disturbing the water. Although anecdotal evidence and small-scale surveys suggest that drifting icebergs increase local primary production, no large-scale studies have reported on this possibility in detail. A combination of satellite and automated iceberg tracking data presented here shows that the probability of increased surface phytoplankton biomass was two-fold higher in the wake of a tracked iceberg compared to background biomass fluctuations. Only during the month of February were the effects of icebergs on surface biomass likely to be negative. These results confirm icebergs as a factor affecting phytoplankton in the Southern Ocean and highlight the need for detailed process studies so that responses to future changes in the Antarctic ice sheets may be predicted. Manuscript Antarc* Antarctic Ice Shelves Iceberg* Southern Ocean Nature Precedings Antarctic Southern Ocean The Antarctic
institution Open Polar
collection Nature Precedings
op_collection_id ftnature
language unknown
topic Earth & Environment
spellingShingle Earth & Environment
Jill N. Schwarz
Michael P. Schodlok
Icebergs boost phytoplankton growth in the Southern Ocean
topic_facet Earth & Environment
description Icebergs which calve from the Antarctic ice shelves and drift in the Southern Ocean deliver fresh water, dust and minerogenic particles to the surface ocean along the iceberg's path. Each of these components may have an effect on growth conditions for phytoplankton, as might the mechanical effects of the iceberg keel disturbing the water. Although anecdotal evidence and small-scale surveys suggest that drifting icebergs increase local primary production, no large-scale studies have reported on this possibility in detail. A combination of satellite and automated iceberg tracking data presented here shows that the probability of increased surface phytoplankton biomass was two-fold higher in the wake of a tracked iceberg compared to background biomass fluctuations. Only during the month of February were the effects of icebergs on surface biomass likely to be negative. These results confirm icebergs as a factor affecting phytoplankton in the Southern Ocean and highlight the need for detailed process studies so that responses to future changes in the Antarctic ice sheets may be predicted.
format Manuscript
author Jill N. Schwarz
Michael P. Schodlok
author_facet Jill N. Schwarz
Michael P. Schodlok
author_sort Jill N. Schwarz
title Icebergs boost phytoplankton growth in the Southern Ocean
title_short Icebergs boost phytoplankton growth in the Southern Ocean
title_full Icebergs boost phytoplankton growth in the Southern Ocean
title_fullStr Icebergs boost phytoplankton growth in the Southern Ocean
title_full_unstemmed Icebergs boost phytoplankton growth in the Southern Ocean
title_sort icebergs boost phytoplankton growth in the southern ocean
publishDate 2008
url http://precedings.nature.com/documents/1706/version/1
http://hdl.handle.net/10101/npre.2008.1706.1
geographic Antarctic
Southern Ocean
The Antarctic
geographic_facet Antarctic
Southern Ocean
The Antarctic
genre Antarc*
Antarctic
Ice Shelves
Iceberg*
Southern Ocean
genre_facet Antarc*
Antarctic
Ice Shelves
Iceberg*
Southern Ocean
op_source Nature Precedings
op_rights Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License
op_rightsnorm CC-BY
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