Glacier retreat alters downstream fjord ecosystem structure and function in Greenland

Glacier retreat in Greenland not only changes the primary productivity of downstream fjord ecosystems but also the ecosystem structure and functioning, according to seasonal sampling of two downstream fjords. The melting of the Greenland Ice Sheet is accelerating, with glaciers shifting from marine...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Nature Geoscience
Main Authors: Meire, Lorenz, Paulsen, Maria Lund, Meire, Patrick, Rysgaard, Soren, Hopwood, Mark James, Sejr, Mikael Kristian, Stuart-Lee, Alice, Sabbe, Koen, Stock, Willem, Mortensen, John
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: NATURE PORTFOLIO 2023
Subjects:
CO2 UPTAKE
MELTWATER
DISCHARGE
CARBON
RATES
Greenland
glacier
Ice Sheet
Online Access:https://biblio.ugent.be/publication/01HMTWJTN16T1NHHPDAXES9W45
http://hdl.handle.net/1854/LU-01HMTWJTN16T1NHHPDAXES9W45
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41561-023-01218-y
Description
Summary:Glacier retreat in Greenland not only changes the primary productivity of downstream fjord ecosystems but also the ecosystem structure and functioning, according to seasonal sampling of two downstream fjords. The melting of the Greenland Ice Sheet is accelerating, with glaciers shifting from marine to land termination and potential consequences for fjord ecosystems downstream. Monthly samples in 2016 in two fjords in southwest Greenland show that subglacial discharge from marine-terminating glaciers sustains high phytoplankton productivity that is dominated by diatoms and grazed by larger mesozooplankton throughout summer. In contrast, melting of land-terminating glaciers results in a fjord ecosystem dominated by bacteria, picophytoplankton and smaller zooplankton, which has only one-third of the annual productivity and half the CO2 uptake compared to the fjord downstream from marine-terminating glaciers.

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