Increasing nutrient fluxes and mixing regime changes in the eastern Arctic Ocean

• Published in: Geophysical Research Letters
• Main Authors: Shultz, Kirsten, Lincoln, Ben, Povazhnyy, V, Rippeth, Tom, Lenn, Yueng-Djern, Janout, Markus, Alkire, Matthew, Scannell, Brian, Torres-Valdes, Sinhue
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: 2022
• Subjects: Arctic Ocean; Mixing; Nutrient cycling; /dk/atira/pure/subjectarea/asjc/1900; Earth and Planetary Sciences(all); Arctic; Sea ice
• Online Access: https://research.bangor.ac.uk/portal/en/researchoutputs/increasing-nutrient-fluxes-and-mixing-regime-changes-in-the-eastern-arctic-ocean(06058dd7-be1f-4daa-a803-36ef1a187803).html; https://doi.org/10.1029/2021GL096152; https://research.bangor.ac.uk/ws/files/40918396/Geophysical_Research_Letters_2022_Schulz_Increasing_Nutrient_Fluxes_and_Mixing_Regime_Changes_in_the_Eastern_Arctic.pdf

Primary productivity in the Arctic Ocean is experiencing dramatic changes linked to the receding sea ice cover. The vertical transport of nutrients from deeper water layers is the limiting factor for primary production. Here, we compare coincident proles of turbulence and nutrients from the Siberian Seas in 2007, 2008 and 2018. In all years, the water column structure in the upstream region of the Arctic Boundary Current promotes upward nutrient transport, in contrast to the regions further downstream, and there are indications for an eastward progression of these conditions. In summer 2018, strongly enhanced vertical nitrate flux and primary production above the continental slope were observed, likely related to a remote storm. The estimated contribution of these elevated fluxes above the slope to the Pan-Arctic vertical nitrate supply is comparable with the basin-wide transport, and is predicted to increase with declining sea ice cover in the future.