Cumulative solar irradiance and potential large-scale sea ice algae distribution off East Antarctica (30 o E-150 o E)

• Published in: Polar Biology
• Main Authors: Raymond, B, Meiners, K, Fowler, CW, Pasquer, B, Williams, GD, Nicol, S
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Springer-Verlag 2009
• Subjects: Environmental Sciences; Ecological applications; Ecosystem function; East Antarctica; Antarc*; Antarctica; ice algae; Polar Biology; Sea ice
• Online Access: http://www.springerlink.com; https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-008-0538-5; http://ecite.utas.edu.au/62452

We present a computational model of the largescalecumulative light exposure of sea ice in the SouthernOcean off East Antarctica (30E-150E). The model usesremotely sensed or modelled sea ice concentration, snowdepth over sea ice, and solar irradiance data, and tracks seaice motion over the season of interest in order to calculatethe cumulative exposure of the ice field to photosyntheticallyactive radiation (PAR). Light is the limiting factor tosea ice algal growth over winter and early spring, and sothe results have implications for the estimation of algalbiomass in East Antarctica. The model results indicate thathighly light-exposed ice is restricted to within a fewdegrees of the coast in the eastern part of the study region,but extends much further north in the 30E-100E sector.The relative influences of sea ice motion, solar flux, andsnow depth variations on interannual variations in modelpredictions were evaluated. The model estimates ofcumulative PAR were found to correlate with satelliteestimates of subsequent open-water chlorophyll-aconcentration, consistent with the notion that sea ice algaecan provide inocula for phytoplankton blooms.