Hidden Production: On the Importance of Pelagic Phytoplankton Blooms Beneath Arctic Sea Ice

Kinney, Jaclyn Clement; Maslowski, Wieslaw; Osiński, Robert; Jin, Meibing; Frants, Marina; Jeffery, Nicole; Lee, Younjoo

doi:10.1029/2020jc016211

Cited by 26 publications

(22 citation statements)

References 33 publications

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“…This suggests the strong spring phytoplankton bloom observed in open water is accompanied by an under-ice bloom that is only slightly weaker. This is consistent with a recent modeling effort that estimated that 63% of the total primary production in Arctic waters occurs in water with 50% or more ice fraction [49]. That work also estimated that 41% occurs in water with 85% or more ice fraction.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 91%

Airborne Lidar Observations of a Spring Phytoplankton Bloom in the Western Arctic Ocean

2021

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One of the most notable effects of climate change is the decrease in sea ice in the Arctic Ocean. This is expected to affect the distribution of phytoplankton as the ice retreats earlier. We were interested in the vertical and horizontal distribution of phytoplankton in the Chukchi Sea in May. Measurements were made with an airborne profiling lidar that allowed us to cover large areas. The lidar profiles showed a uniform distribution of attenuation and scattering from the surface to the limit of lidar penetration at a depth of about 30 m. Both parameters were greater in open water than under the ice. Depolarization of the lidar decreased as attenuation and scattering increased. A cluster analysis of the 2019 data revealed four distinct clusters based on depolarization and lidar ratio. One cluster was associated with open water, one with pack ice, one with the waters along the land-fast ice, and one that appeared to be scattered throughout the region. The first three were likely the result of different assemblages of phytoplankton, while the last may have been an artifact of thin fog in the atmosphere.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 91%

Airborne Lidar Observations of a Spring Phytoplankton Bloom in the Western Arctic Ocean

2021

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“…The flow through the Bering Strait and downstream in the Chukchi Sea has been commonly attributed to forcing by the local winds and a far-field difference in sea surface height (SSH) between the Pacific and Arctic, or so-called "pressure head" (Coachman and Aagaard, 1966;Stigebrandt, 1984). A more recent study (Peralta-Ferriz and Woodgate, 2017) based on the GRACE ocean mass satellite data and in situ mooring data suggests the dominant role of the East Siberian Sea (ESS) in driving the flow through the Bering Strait.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

On the circulation, water mass distribution, and nutrient concentrations of the western Chukchi Sea

et al. 2022

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Abstract. Substantial amounts of nutrients and carbon enter the Arctic Ocean from the Pacific Ocean through the Bering Strait, distributed over three main pathways. Water with low salinities and nutrient concentrations takes an eastern route along the Alaskan coast, as Alaskan Coastal Water. A central pathway exhibits intermediate salinity and nutrient concentrations, while the most nutrient-rich water enters the Bering Strait on its western side. Towards the Arctic Ocean, the flow of these water masses is subject to strong topographic steering within the Chukchi Sea with volume transport modulated by the wind field. In this contribution, we use data from several sections crossing Herald Canyon collected in 2008 and 2014 together with numerical modelling to investigate the circulation and transport in the western part of the Chukchi Sea. We find that a substantial fraction of water from the Chukchi Sea enters the East Siberian Sea south of Wrangel Island and circulates in an anticyclonic direction around the island. This water then contributes to the high-nutrient waters of Herald Canyon. The bottom of the canyon has the highest nutrient concentrations, likely as a result of addition from the degradation of organic matter at the sediment surface in the East Siberian Sea. The flux of nutrients (nitrate, phosphate, and silicate) and dissolved inorganic carbon in Bering Summer Water and Winter Water is computed by combining hydrographic and nutrient observations with geostrophic transport referenced to lowered acoustic Doppler current profiler (LADCP) and surface drift data. Even if there are some general similarities between the years, there are differences in both the temperature–salinity and nutrient characteristics. To assess these differences, and also to get a wider temporal and spatial view, numerical modelling results are applied. According to model results, high-frequency variability dominates the flow in Herald Canyon. This leads us to conclude that this region needs to be monitored over a longer time frame to deduce the temporal variability and potential trends.

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“…The changing light regime stimulates pelagic and sympagic primary production on different scales (Fernández-Méndez et al, 2015;Clement Kinney et al, 2020;Lewis et al, 2020) and will likely be coupled to increased N consumption. How may increasing N limitation favor BNF in general and increasing light availability influence phototrophic diazotrophs in particular?…”

Section: Cyanobacterial Diazotrophs May Be Of Higher Relative Abundanmentioning

confidence: 99%

Nitrogen Fixation in a Changing Arctic Ocean: An Overlooked Source of Nitrogen?

Friesen

Riemann

2020

Front. Microbiol.

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The Arctic Ocean is the smallest ocean on Earth, yet estimated to play a substantial role as a global carbon sink. As climate change is rapidly changing fundamental components of the Arctic, it is of local and global importance to understand and predict consequences for its carbon dynamics. Primary production in the Arctic Ocean is often nitrogen-limited, and this is predicted to increase in some regions. It is therefore of critical interest that biological nitrogen fixation, a process where some bacteria and archaea termed diazotrophs convert nitrogen gas to bioavailable ammonia, has now been detected in the Arctic Ocean. Several studies report diverse and active diazotrophs on various temporal and spatial scales across the Arctic Ocean. Their ecology and biogeochemical impact remain poorly known, and nitrogen fixation is so far absent from models of primary production in the Arctic Ocean. The composition of the diazotroph community appears distinct from other oceans – challenging paradigms of function and regulation of nitrogen fixation. There is evidence of both symbiotic cyanobacterial nitrogen fixation and heterotrophic diazotrophy, but large regions are not yet sampled, and the sparse quantitative data hamper conclusive insights. Hence, it remains to be determined to what extent nitrogen fixation represents a hitherto overlooked source of new nitrogen to consider when predicting future productivity of the Arctic Ocean. Here, we discuss current knowledge on diazotroph distribution, composition, and activity in pelagic and sea ice-associated environments of the Arctic Ocean. Based on this, we identify gaps and outline pertinent research questions in the context of a climate change-influenced Arctic Ocean – with the aim of guiding and encouraging future research on nitrogen fixation in this region.

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Hidden Production: On the Importance of Pelagic Phytoplankton Blooms Beneath Arctic Sea Ice

Cited by 26 publications

References 33 publications

Airborne Lidar Observations of a Spring Phytoplankton Bloom in the Western Arctic Ocean

Airborne Lidar Observations of a Spring Phytoplankton Bloom in the Western Arctic Ocean

On the circulation, water mass distribution, and nutrient concentrations of the western Chukchi Sea

Nitrogen Fixation in a Changing Arctic Ocean: An Overlooked Source of Nitrogen?

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