225 years of Bering Sea climate and ecosystem dynamics revealed by coralline algal growth-increment widths
Bering Sea climate and ecosystem dynamics have recently undergone major changes that have affected seasonal sea ice distribution and marine life, including commercially important salmon fisheries. Unfortunately, long-term Bering Sea dynamics are poorly understood, largely because of an absence of hi...
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GSA, Geological Society of America
2011
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Online Access: | https://oceanrep.geomar.de/id/eprint/11833/ https://oceanrep.geomar.de/id/eprint/11833/1/Halfar_et_al._2011_Geology_coralline_algal_growth.pdf https://doi.org/10.1130/g31996.1 |
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ftoceanrep:oai:oceanrep.geomar.de:11833 2023-05-15T13:15:03+02:00 225 years of Bering Sea climate and ecosystem dynamics revealed by coralline algal growth-increment widths Halfar, J. Williams, B. Hetzinger, Steffen Steneck, R. S. Lebednik, P. Winsborough, C. Omar, A. Chan, P. Wanamaker, A. D. 2011 text https://oceanrep.geomar.de/id/eprint/11833/ https://oceanrep.geomar.de/id/eprint/11833/1/Halfar_et_al._2011_Geology_coralline_algal_growth.pdf https://doi.org/10.1130/g31996.1 en eng GSA, Geological Society of America https://oceanrep.geomar.de/id/eprint/11833/1/Halfar_et_al._2011_Geology_coralline_algal_growth.pdf Halfar, J., Williams, B., Hetzinger, S. , Steneck, R. S., Lebednik, P., Winsborough, C., Omar, A., Chan, P. and Wanamaker, A. D. (2011) 225 years of Bering Sea climate and ecosystem dynamics revealed by coralline algal growth-increment widths. Geology, 39 (6). pp. 579-582. DOI 10.1130/g31996.1 <https://doi.org/10.1130/g31996.1>. Date online first: 2011 doi:10.1130/g31996.1 info:eu-repo/semantics/restrictedAccess Article PeerReviewed 2011 ftoceanrep https://doi.org/10.1130/g31996.1 2023-04-07T15:00:03Z Bering Sea climate and ecosystem dynamics have recently undergone major changes that have affected seasonal sea ice distribution and marine life, including commercially important salmon fisheries. Unfortunately, long-term Bering Sea dynamics are poorly understood, largely because of an absence of high-resolution marine proxy archives. Here we present the first record compiled from annual growth-increment widths of long-lived coralline algae collected in shallow-water habitats spanning the entire Aleutian Islands. While algal growth in the Aleutians exhibits a variable relationship with regional temperatures, it is strongly driven by changes in solar radiation reaching the seafloor. Therefore, it provides an exceptional archive of long-term light dynamics, which in the Bering Sea is attributed to changes in strength of the Aleutian Low (AL), the dominant climate pattern of the subarctic North Pacific. The AL is positively related to Bering Sea cloudiness and wind strength, which in turn fosters upper-ocean mixing. Mixing raises surface-water nutrient concentrations and stimulates plankton production, which is positively linked to Alaskan salmon abundance. Enhanced clouds and plankton production increase shading on the shallow seafloor and reduce algal growth. Light-driven algal growth rates track proxy-derived salmon abundance from 1782 onward, but are poorly related to temperature-dominated Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO) variability prior to the twentieth century. The algal record suggests that the present-day relationship of AL and PDO varied historically and that salmon stocks have been more closely related to AL strength via its effect on plankton abundance rather than PDO-related temperatures. Article in Journal/Newspaper aleutian low Bering Sea Sea ice Subarctic Aleutian Islands OceanRep (GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre für Ocean Research Kiel) Bering Sea Pacific Geology 39 6 579 582 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
OceanRep (GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre für Ocean Research Kiel) |
op_collection_id |
ftoceanrep |
language |
English |
description |
Bering Sea climate and ecosystem dynamics have recently undergone major changes that have affected seasonal sea ice distribution and marine life, including commercially important salmon fisheries. Unfortunately, long-term Bering Sea dynamics are poorly understood, largely because of an absence of high-resolution marine proxy archives. Here we present the first record compiled from annual growth-increment widths of long-lived coralline algae collected in shallow-water habitats spanning the entire Aleutian Islands. While algal growth in the Aleutians exhibits a variable relationship with regional temperatures, it is strongly driven by changes in solar radiation reaching the seafloor. Therefore, it provides an exceptional archive of long-term light dynamics, which in the Bering Sea is attributed to changes in strength of the Aleutian Low (AL), the dominant climate pattern of the subarctic North Pacific. The AL is positively related to Bering Sea cloudiness and wind strength, which in turn fosters upper-ocean mixing. Mixing raises surface-water nutrient concentrations and stimulates plankton production, which is positively linked to Alaskan salmon abundance. Enhanced clouds and plankton production increase shading on the shallow seafloor and reduce algal growth. Light-driven algal growth rates track proxy-derived salmon abundance from 1782 onward, but are poorly related to temperature-dominated Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO) variability prior to the twentieth century. The algal record suggests that the present-day relationship of AL and PDO varied historically and that salmon stocks have been more closely related to AL strength via its effect on plankton abundance rather than PDO-related temperatures. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Halfar, J. Williams, B. Hetzinger, Steffen Steneck, R. S. Lebednik, P. Winsborough, C. Omar, A. Chan, P. Wanamaker, A. D. |
spellingShingle |
Halfar, J. Williams, B. Hetzinger, Steffen Steneck, R. S. Lebednik, P. Winsborough, C. Omar, A. Chan, P. Wanamaker, A. D. 225 years of Bering Sea climate and ecosystem dynamics revealed by coralline algal growth-increment widths |
author_facet |
Halfar, J. Williams, B. Hetzinger, Steffen Steneck, R. S. Lebednik, P. Winsborough, C. Omar, A. Chan, P. Wanamaker, A. D. |
author_sort |
Halfar, J. |
title |
225 years of Bering Sea climate and ecosystem dynamics revealed by coralline algal growth-increment widths |
title_short |
225 years of Bering Sea climate and ecosystem dynamics revealed by coralline algal growth-increment widths |
title_full |
225 years of Bering Sea climate and ecosystem dynamics revealed by coralline algal growth-increment widths |
title_fullStr |
225 years of Bering Sea climate and ecosystem dynamics revealed by coralline algal growth-increment widths |
title_full_unstemmed |
225 years of Bering Sea climate and ecosystem dynamics revealed by coralline algal growth-increment widths |
title_sort |
225 years of bering sea climate and ecosystem dynamics revealed by coralline algal growth-increment widths |
publisher |
GSA, Geological Society of America |
publishDate |
2011 |
url |
https://oceanrep.geomar.de/id/eprint/11833/ https://oceanrep.geomar.de/id/eprint/11833/1/Halfar_et_al._2011_Geology_coralline_algal_growth.pdf https://doi.org/10.1130/g31996.1 |
geographic |
Bering Sea Pacific |
geographic_facet |
Bering Sea Pacific |
genre |
aleutian low Bering Sea Sea ice Subarctic Aleutian Islands |
genre_facet |
aleutian low Bering Sea Sea ice Subarctic Aleutian Islands |
op_relation |
https://oceanrep.geomar.de/id/eprint/11833/1/Halfar_et_al._2011_Geology_coralline_algal_growth.pdf Halfar, J., Williams, B., Hetzinger, S. , Steneck, R. S., Lebednik, P., Winsborough, C., Omar, A., Chan, P. and Wanamaker, A. D. (2011) 225 years of Bering Sea climate and ecosystem dynamics revealed by coralline algal growth-increment widths. Geology, 39 (6). pp. 579-582. DOI 10.1130/g31996.1 <https://doi.org/10.1130/g31996.1>. Date online first: 2011 doi:10.1130/g31996.1 |
op_rights |
info:eu-repo/semantics/restrictedAccess |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1130/g31996.1 |
container_title |
Geology |
container_volume |
39 |
container_issue |
6 |
container_start_page |
579 |
op_container_end_page |
582 |
_version_ |
1766266744854282240 |