Primary production in the bays of the novaya zemlya archipelago (Kara Sea) in the contrasting glacial and non-glacial environmental conditions.

Ongoing warming is leading to the accelerated shrinkage of glaciers located on Arctic islands. Consequently, the influence of glacial meltwater on phytoplankton primary production in Arctic bays becomes critically important in an era of warming. This work studies the spatiotemporal variation of prim...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Marine Environmental Research
Main Authors: Demidov, Andrey B, Borisenko, Gennadii V, Artemiev, Vladimir A, Polukhin, Alexander A, Eremeeva, Elena V, Flint, Mikhail V
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: Elsevier Science 2024
Subjects:
Chlorophyll a
Glaciers
High arctic fjords
Meltwater runoff
Novaya zemlya archipelago
Nutrients
Photosynthetically available radiation
Primary production
Kara Sea
Novaya Zemlya
Phytoplankton
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marenvres.2024.106620
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38917661
Description
Summary:Ongoing warming is leading to the accelerated shrinkage of glaciers located on Arctic islands. Consequently, the influence of glacial meltwater on phytoplankton primary production in Arctic bays becomes critically important in an era of warming. This work studies the spatiotemporal variation of primary production and chlorophyll a concentration in the bays along the eastern coast of the Novaya Zemlya archipelago. Data were collected during nine cruises performed from July to October (2013-2022). The effect of underwater photosynthetically available radiation (PAR) and nutrients on primary production was assessed separately for bays influenced by glacial meltwater (glacial bays) and those without such influence (non-glacial bays). The median value of water column-integrated primary production (IPP) for all bays was 38 mgC m-2 d-1, characterizing them as oligotrophic areas. IPP in non-glacial bays was found to be 2.3-fold and 1.4-fold higher than that in glacial bays during summer and autumn, respectively. Underwater PAR was the main abiotic factor determining IPP during the ice-free period. In the entire bays nutrient concentrations were high, exceeding the limiting values for growth and photosynthesis of phytoplankton. It was concluded that the high turbidity from glacial meltwater runoff leads to decreased underwater PAR and, consequently, to a decline in IPP. This study demonstrates that rapid warming could have a negative impact on the productivity of high Arctic bays and their adjacent areas.

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