Wintertime controls on summer stratification and productivity at the western Antarctic Peninsula
Abstract:
We report results collected year-round since 1998 in northern Marguerite Bay, just inside the Antarctic Circle. The magnitude of the spring phytoplankton bloom is much reduced following winters with reduced sea-ice cover. In years with little winter sea-ice the exposed sea surface leads to deep mixed layers in winter, and reduced water-column stratification the following spring. Summer mixed-layer depths are similar, however, so the change is not in overall light availability but toward a less stable water column with greater vertical mixing and increased variability in the light conditions experienced by phytoplankton. Macronutrient concentrations are replete at all times, but the increased vertical mixing likely reduces iron availability. The timing of bloom initiation is similar between heavy and light ice years, occurring soon after light returns in early spring, at a mixed-layer averaged light level of < 1 mol photon m−2 d−1. Ongoing regional climate change in the WAP area, and notably the ongoing loss of winter sea-ice, is likely to drive a downward trend in the magnitude of phytoplankton blooms in this region of the Antarctic Peninsula.read more
Citations
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Climate change and Southern Ocean ecosystems I: how changes in physical habitats directly affect marine biota
Andrew J. Constable,Andrew J. Constable,Jessica Melbourne-Thomas,Jessica Melbourne-Thomas,Stuart Corney,Kevin R. Arrigo,Christophe Barbraud,David K. A. Barnes,Nathaniel L. Bindoff,Nathaniel L. Bindoff,Nathaniel L. Bindoff,Philip W. Boyd,Philip W. Boyd,Angelika Brandt,Daniel P. Costa,Andrew T. Davidson,Andrew T. Davidson,Hugh W. Ducklow,Louise Emmerson,Mitsuo Fukuchi,Julian Gutt,Mark A. Hindell,Eileen E. Hofmann,Graham Hosie,Graham Hosie,Takahiro Iida,Sarah Jacob,Nadine M. Johnston,So Kawaguchi,So Kawaguchi,Nobuo Kokubun,Philippe Koubbi,Mary-Anne Lea,Azwianewi B. Makhado,Robert A. Massom,Robert A. Massom,Klaus M Meiners,Klaus M Meiners,Michael P. Meredith,Eugene J. Murphy,Stephen Nicol,Stephen Nicol,Keith Reid,Kate Richerson,Martin J. Riddle,Stephen R. Rintoul,Stephen R. Rintoul,Walker O. Smith,Colin Southwell,Colin Southwell,Jonathon S. Stark,Michael D. Sumner,Kerrie M. Swadling,Kunio T. Takahashi,Phil Trathan,Dirk Welsford,Henri Weimerskirch,Karen J. Westwood,Karen J. Westwood,Barbara Wienecke,Dieter Wolf-Gladrow,Simon W. Wright,Simon W. Wright,José C. Xavier,José C. Xavier,Philippe Ziegler +65 more
TL;DR: Current and expected changes in ASO physical habitats in response to climate change are reviewed, including how these changes may impact the autecology of marine biota: microbes, zooplankton, salps, Antarctic krill, fish, cephalopods, marine mammals, seabirds, and benthos.
Journal ArticleDOI
West Antarctic Peninsula: An Ice-Dependent Coastal Marine Ecosystem in Transition
Hugh W. Ducklow,William R. Fraser,Michael P. Meredith,Sharon Stammerjohn,Sharon Stammerjohn,Scott C. Doney,Douglas G. Martinson,Sévrine F. Sailley,Oscar Schofield,Deborah K. Steinberg,Hugh J. Venables,Charles D. Amsler +11 more
TL;DR: The extent, duration, and seasonality of sea ice and glacial discharge strongly influence Antarctic marine ecosystems as mentioned in this paper, and it is unclear to what extent the ecosystems we observe today differ from the pristine state.
Journal ArticleDOI
Winter and spring controls on the summer food web of the coastal West Antarctic Peninsula
Grace Saba,William R. Fraser,Vincent S. Saba,Richard A. Iannuzzi,Kaycee E. Coleman,Scott C. Doney,Hugh W. Ducklow,Douglas G. Martinson,Travis Miles,Donna L. Patterson-Fraser,Sharon Stammerjohn,Sharon Stammerjohn,Deborah K. Steinberg,Oscar Schofield +13 more
TL;DR: It is shown that positive anomalies in chlorophyll-a (chl-a) at Palmer Station, occurring every 4-6 years, are constrained by physical processes in the preceding winter/spring and a negative phase of the Southern Annular Mode (SAM).
Interpretation of recent Southern Hemisphere climate change
TL;DR: In this paper, it is argued that the largest and most significant tropospheric trends can be traced to recent trends in the lower stratospheric polar vortex, which are due largely to photochemical ozone losses, and the trend toward stronger circumpolar flow has contributed substantially to the observed warming over the Antarctic Peninsula and Patagonia and to the cooling over eastern Antarctica and the Antarctic plateau.
Journal ArticleDOI
Student's tutorial on bloom hypotheses in the context of phytoplankton annual cycles
TL;DR: A “tutorial” on the development of these concepts and the fundamental elements distinguishing each hypothesis for understanding the temporal dynamics of phytoplankton biomass and predicting its future change is provided.
References
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Interpretation of recent Southern Hemisphere climate change
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