Vertical flux of chlorophyll a under fast ice near Syowa Station, Antarctica, in austral summer, 1991/1992

• Main Authors: Tsuneo Odate, Hiroshi Sasaki, Mitsuo Fukuchi
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: National Institute of Polar Research 2004
• Subjects: geo; Austral; Syowa Station; Antarc*; Antarctica
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.15094/00009277; https://doaj.org/article/1bc0116c3cf642e4b10bacb4545369e4

Sinking particles were collected using sediment traps, which were deployed at depths of 25 or 30m under fast ice near Syowa Station, Antarctica, from January 6 to February 6, 1992. Using the samples, fluxes of chlorophyll a (Chl a) were estimated and the contribution of algal sinking to the decrease of phytoplankton biomass after the summer bloom was evaluated. The Chl a concentration, integrated above the depths at which the sediment traps were deployed, reached a maximum in mid-January. The Chl a flux became high after the maximum of the concentration was recorded. In the Chl a decreasing phase, daily decreasing rates of the Chl a concentrations in the water columns were 8.71-10.4mg Chl a m-2 day-1 . During this period the Chl a fluxes accounted for only 3.6-4.0 of the decreasing rates. These observations imply that algal sinking is not the major process of phytoplankton biomass decrease after the summer bloom.