Primary Production in the Arctic

Marshall, Philip

doi:10.1093/icesjms/23.2.173

Cited by 32 publications

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“…In spring, about 63% of the ice melts within the basin (Lisitsyn 1960); the rest leaves through the various passes and straits. Marshall (1957) and McRoy and Goering (1974) have suggested that the high primary productivity observed in spring near the retreating Bering Sea ice edge is due in part to increased stability of the water column resulting from the low-salinity meltwater. Such intense ice-edge production is not restricted to the Bering Sea.…”

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confidence: 99%

Oceanography of the eastern Bering Sea ice‐edge zone in spring1

Alexander¹,

Niebauer²

1981

Limnology & Oceanography

183

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The ice-edge region of the southeast Bering Sea was studied in terms of the hydrographic regime, phytoplankton biomass, and primary productivity during the springs of 1975 through 1977. The results showed that a phytoplankton bloom occurs at the ice edge just as the spring ice-decay period begins, and that this accounts for a significant proportion of the annual carbon input over the shallow shelf. The bloom is intensified in time and space by the influence of the ice edge on the physical structure of the water column. Specifically, melting ice seems to increase the stability of the water column, near and under the ice, by lowering the salinity. Frontal structure in salinity and temperature are apparent at the ice edge and are attributed to the melting ice but also, at times, to wind-driven Ekman-type upwelling. These data are also related to recent short term (ca. months-year) climatic fluctuations that seem to control the seasonal position of the ice-edge zone relative to the shelf break. In "cold" years, the ice edge comes southward to the shelf break and overlies the more nutrientrich Alaska Stream/Bering Sea source water. In "warm" years, the ice-edge zone does not reach this nutrient-rich water. This may be important to the biology of the ice-edge ecosystem.The edge zones of seasonal sea ice are biologically productive, serving as focal points for the congregation of large numbers of marine birds and mammals and thus represent ecologically critical habitats in subpolar regions. The presence of a cold and solid boundary influences the biological regime in several ways, including effects on the physical and chemical regimes in the adjacent seawater. At least three structural features of the water column often associated with high oceanic primary production can occur in such an area simultaneously:water column stability, frontal structures and, under certain conditions, ice-edge upwelling. We show here that there is enhanced primary production due to water column stability and frontal structure at the edge of the seasonal sea ice in spring. Our data also suggest that ice-edge upwelling occurs. We show further that the intense

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confidence: 99%

Oceanography of the eastern Bering Sea ice‐edge zone in spring1

Alexander¹,

Niebauer²

1981

Limnology & Oceanography

183

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“…He attributed decreased mixed layer depth primarily to increased stability of the water column resulting from surface heating or from reduced surface salinity caused by spring runoff in the Norwegian Sea. Ice meltwater stabilized the upper water column in the Barents Sea leading to a spring phytoplankton bloom [Marshall, 1957], a phenomenon also observed in the eastern Bering Sea [Alexander and Niebauer, 1981]. Ice meltwater stabilized the upper water column in the Barents Sea leading to a spring phytoplankton bloom [Marshall, 1957], a phenomenon also observed in the eastern Bering Sea [Alexander and Niebauer, 1981].…”

Section: Strong Winds Can MIX Chlorophyll Into the Near-surface Layermentioning

confidence: 80%

Wind effects on coastal zone color scanner chlorophyll patterns in the U.S. Mid‐Atlantic Bight during spring 1979

Eslinger¹,

Iverson²

1986

J. Geophys. Res.

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Coastal zone color scanner (CZCS) chlorophyll concentration increases in the Mid‐Atlantic Bight were associated with high wind speeds in continental shelf waters during March and May 1979. Maximum spring CZCS chlorophyll concentrations occurred during April when the water column was not thermally stratified and were spatially and temporally associated with reductions in wind speed both in onshelf and in offshelf regions. Increased chlorophyll concentrations in offshelf waters were associated with high wind speeds during May when a deep chlorophyll maximum was present. Chlorophyll patchiness was observed on length scales typical of those controlled by biological processes during the April low‐wind period but not during March or May when wind speeds were greater. The spring CZCS chlorophyll maximum in the southern portion of the Mid‐Atlantic Bight occurred in response to a reduction in mixed layer depth caused by decreased wind speeds and not by increased water column stratification.

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“…North of the Polar Front in the Barents Sea, the water column stabilises during spring as a result of ice melting. A short-lived phytoplankton bloom at the ice edge gives rise to spawning and the development of zooplankton (Marshall 1958;Rey & Loeng 1985;Rey et al 1987) which, in turn, may be preyed upon by S. elegans var. arctica.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Prey composition and feeding rate of Sagitta elegans var. arctica (chaetognatha) in the Barents Sea in early summer

Falkenhaug¹

1991

Polar Research

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Sagitta elegans var. arctica, the dominant and locally abundant chaetognath in the Barents sea, was collected from the upper 50 m in Arctic water masses during an ice edge bloom in early summer 1983. In situ sampling was made along a transect at discrete depths with a 375 μm mesh net mounted on a plankton pump. Prey composition and feeding rate were estimated from gut content analyses on preserved specimens combined with data on digestion times from previous studies. No diel variations were found in feeding activity. The diet reflected the composition of available prey in the zooplankton and consisted mainly of nauplii, small copepods (early stages of Calanus, Pseudocalanus, Oithona) and appendicularians. Prey usually occurred as a single item in the gut. Mean prey body width related to chaetognath head width yielded a power curve, with a large amount of scatter, showing that chaetognaths in the Barents Sea can use a wide spectrum of prey sizes. Similarly, maximum prey body width was related to chaetognath head width as a power curve, reflecting the existence of an upper prey size limitation due to the chaetognath mouth size. The highest abundance of S. elegans (5 specimens m−3), and the most intense feeding activity, were found within or beneath the maximum zooplankton biomass. Further, distribution and feeding were affected by light intensity, salinity, and the population structure of 5. elegans var. arctica. Estimated feeding rates ranged between 0.30 and 1.05 prey items per chaetognath day−1. This corresponds to an ingestion of 8‐54 μg AFDW day−1, and a consumption of 0.08–0.22% of the zooplankton standing stock day−1. From these rates, the calculated yearly ingestion by S. elegans var. arctica was 3% of the annually secondary production.

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Primary Production in the Arctic

Cited by 32 publications

References 0 publications

Oceanography of the eastern Bering Sea ice‐edge zone in spring1

Oceanography of the eastern Bering Sea ice‐edge zone in spring1

Wind effects on coastal zone color scanner chlorophyll patterns in the U.S. Mid‐Atlantic Bight during spring 1979

Prey composition and feeding rate of Sagitta elegans var. arctica (chaetognatha) in the Barents Sea in early summer

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