Antarctic pack ice algal distribution: floe-scale spatial variability and predictability from physical parameters

• Published in: Geophysical Research Letters
• Main Authors: Meiners, KM, Arndt, S, Bestley, S, Krumpen, T, Ricker, R, Milnes, M, Newbery, K, Freier, U, Jarman, S, King, R, Proud, RH, Kawaguchi, S, Meyer, B
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Amer Geophysical Union 2017
• Subjects: Antarctic; sea ice; algae; spatial upscaling; Southern Ocean; Weddell; Weddell Sea; Antarc*; ice algae; Sea ice
• Online Access: https://eprints.utas.edu.au/24658/; https://eprints.utas.edu.au/24658/1/120052.pdf; https://doi.org/10.1002/2017GL074346

Antarctic pack ice serves as habitat for microalgae which contribute to Southern Ocean primary production and serve as important food source for pelagic herbivores. Ice algal biomass is highly patchy and remains severely undersampled by classical methods such as spatially restricted ice coring surveys. Here we provide an unprecedented view of ice algal biomass distribution, mapped (as chlorophyll a) in a 100 m by 100 m area of a Weddell Sea pack ice floe, using under-ice irradiance measurements taken with an instrumented remotely operated vehicle. We identified significant correlations (p r2 = 0.30) indicates that these parameters alone may provide a first basis for spatial prediction of ice algal biomass, but parameterization of additional determinants is needed to inform more robust upscaling efforts.