Under-ice blooms of phytoplankton in the Chukchi Sea have been observed, with strong implications for our understanding of the production regimes in the Arctic Ocean. Using a combination of satellite remote sensing of phytoplankton biomass, in situ observations under sea ice from an autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV), and in vivo photophysiology, we examined the composition, magnitude and origin of a bloom detected beneath the sea ice Northwest of Svalbard (Southern Yermak Plateau) in May 2010. In situ concentration of up to 20 mg chlorophyll a [Chl a] m −3 , were dominated by the northern planktonic spring species of diatoms, Thalassiosira nordenskioeldii, T. antarctica var. borealis, Chaetoceros socialis species complex and Fragilariopsis oceanica. These species were also found south of the marginal ice zone (MIZ). Cells in the water column under the sea ice were typically high-light acclimated, with a mean light saturation index (E k ) of 138 μmol photons m −2 s −1 and a ratio between photoprotective carotenoids (PPC) and Chl a (w:w) of 0.2. Remotely sensed data of [Chl a] showed a 32,000 km 2 bloom developing south of the MIZ. In effect, our data suggest that the observed under-ice bloom was in fact a bloom developed in open waters south of the ice edge, and that a combination of northward-flowing water masses and southward drifting sea ice effectively positioned the bloom under the sea ice. This have implications for our general understanding of under-ice blooms, suggesting that their origin and connection with open water may be different in different regions of the Arctic.

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Coastal ecosystems are of high ecological and socioeconomic importance and are strongly influenced by processes from land, sea, and human activities. In this study, we present physical, chemical, and biological observations over two consecutive years from three study regions along the Norwegian coast that represent a broad latitudinal gradient in catchment and oceanographic conditions (∼59-69 • N): outer Oslofjord/southern Norway, Runde/western Norway, and Malangen/northern Norway. The observations included river monitoring, coastal monitoring, and sensor-equipped ships of opportunity ("FerryBox"). The riverine discharge and transports were an order of magnitude higher, and the spatiotemporal extent of this freshwater influence was larger in the coastal region in southern Norway, compared to western and northern Norway. The southern Norway coastal waters had consistently high dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and chromophoric dissolved organic matter (cDOM) fluorescence year-round, connected to the large influence of local riverine input and likely also advected riverine runoff and mixing with water masses from the southern North Sea and Baltic Sea. Meanwhile, the western and northern study regions were more sheltered and characterized by more episodic riverine input of freshwater, DOC, cDOM, and nutrients. The timing of the spring phytoplankton bloom in all three regions generally preceded the periods of high riverine input, which suggested that while the winter nutrient reserve was sufficient to fuel the spring bloom, the input of nutrients during the spring flood could sustain the spring bloom or the input of suspended matter, and DOC/cDOM could result in light limitation of the bloom. This article summarizes the impact of riverine input on three diverse coastal systems in terms timing and duration, as well as the potential consequences for ecosystem function especially as related to rising terrestrial organic matter input into coastal regions over the last decades and the projected increase due to climate change.

Ground-based measurements of optical properties have rarely been conducted for lakes located on the Tibetan Plateau (TP). In this study, we analyzed the spectral absorption properties of phytoplankton, non-algal particles, and colored dissolved organic matter sampled in Lake Namtso on the TP in order to obtain the variability in the light absorption properties of each of these three components and the relative contribution of each component. The Chlorophyll-a concentration was found to be very low. The mean value of the spectral slope S 280À500 for CDOM absorption was found to be 0.036 nm À1 , whereas the corresponding mean value for S 350À500 was found to be 0.015 nm À1 , implying that when comparing spectral slope values with published values, the wavelength range used for deriving them should be considered. Additional peaks were found for phytoplankton sampled in Lake Namtso in the wavelength ranges 310-370 and 600-640 nm, indicating a significant contribution by accessory pigments to the phytoplankton absorption. The Chlorophyll-a specific absorption coefficients of phytoplankton ½a à phy ðkÞ at 440 and 675 nm in Lake Namtso were found to be much higher than previously reported values, due to the combination of a small package effect and contributions by accessory pigments.Keywords High-altitude lake Á Colored dissolved organic matter Á Phytoplankton Á Total suspended matter Handling editor: