scholarly journals Sea-ice retreat may decrease carbon export and vertical microbial connectivity in the Eurasian Arctic basins

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eduard Fadeev ◽  
Andreas Rogge ◽  
Simon Ramondenc ◽  
Eva-Maria Nöthig ◽  
Claudia Wekerle ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sea Ice ◽  
Deep Sea ◽  
Early Summer ◽  
Source Tracking ◽  
Carbon Export ◽  
Phytoplankton Communities ◽  
Ice Retreat ◽  
Diatom Blooms ◽  
Sea Ice Retreat

Abstract Arctic Ocean sea-ice cover is shrinking due to warming. Long-term sediment trap data show higher export efficiency of particulate organic carbon in regions with seasonal sea-ice compared to regions without sea-ice. To investigate this sea-ice enhanced export, we compared how different phytoplankton communities in seasonally ice-free and ice-covered regions of the Fram Strait affect carbon export and vertical dispersal of microbes. In situ collected aggregates, combined with microbial source tracking revealed that larger aggregates from sea-ice and under-ice diatom blooms were responsible for higher export efficiency and vertical microbial connectivity. During early summer, Phaeocystis aggregates dominated the ice-free regions and exported two-fold less carbon than diatom aggregates in ice-covered regions, and also less surface-born microbial clades to the deep-sea. This suggests that continuous ice-loss will further decrease pelagic-benthic coupling, impacting the quantity and quality of food input due to formation of slow-settling aggregates, with potential repercussions for Arctic deep-sea ecosystems.

scholarly journals Timing of sea ice retreat can alter phytoplankton community structure in the western Arctic Ocean

2014 ◽  
Vol 11 (7) ◽  
pp. 1705-1716 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Fujiwara ◽  
T. Hirawake ◽  
K. Suzuki ◽  
I. Imai ◽  
S.-I. Saitoh
Keyword(s):  
Community Structure ◽  
Sea Ice ◽  
Arctic Ocean ◽  
Phytoplankton Community ◽  
Phytoplankton Community Structure ◽  
Western Arctic Ocean ◽  
Phytoplankton Communities ◽  
Ice Retreat ◽  
Western Arctic ◽  
Sea Ice Retreat

Abstract. This study assesses the response of phytoplankton assemblages to recent climate change, especially with regard to the shrinking of sea ice in the northern Chukchi Sea of the western Arctic Ocean. Distribution patterns of phytoplankton groups in the late summers of 2008–2010 were analysed based on HPLC pigment signatures and, the following four major algal groups were inferred via multiple regression and cluster analyses: prasinophytes, diatoms, haptophytes and dinoflagellates. A remarkable interannual difference in the distribution pattern of the groups was found in the northern basin area. Haptophytes dominated and dispersed widely in warm surface waters in 2008, whereas prasinophytes dominated in cold water in 2009 and 2010. A difference in the onset date of sea ice retreat was evident among years–the sea ice retreat in 2008 was 1–2 months earlier than in 2009 and 2010. The spatial distribution of early sea ice retreat matched the areas in which a shift in algal community composition was observed. Steel-Dwass's multiple comparison tests were used to assess the physical, chemical and biological parameters of the four clusters. We found a statistically significant difference in temperature between the haptophyte-dominated cluster and the other clusters, suggesting that the change in the phytoplankton communities was related to the earlier sea ice retreat in 2008 and the corollary increase in sea surface temperatures. Longer periods of open water during the summer, which are expected in the future, may affect food webs and biogeochemical cycles in the western Arctic due to shifts in phytoplankton community structure.

scholarly journals Timing of sea ice retreat can alter phytoplankton community structure in the western Arctic Ocean

2013 ◽  
Vol 10 (9) ◽  
pp. 15153-15180 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Fujiwara ◽  
T. Hirawake ◽  
K. Suzuki ◽  
I. Imai ◽  
S.-I. Saitoh
Keyword(s):  
Community Structure ◽  
Sea Ice ◽  
Arctic Ocean ◽  
Phytoplankton Community ◽  
Phytoplankton Community Structure ◽  
Western Arctic Ocean ◽  
Phytoplankton Communities ◽  
Ice Retreat ◽  
Western Arctic ◽  
Sea Ice Retreat

Abstract. This study assesses the response of phytoplankton assemblages to recent climate change, especially with regard to the shrinking of sea ice in the northern Chukchi Sea of the western Arctic Ocean. Distribution patterns of phytoplankton groups in the late summers of 2008–2010 were analyzed based on HPLC pigment signatures and, the following four major algal groups were inferred via multiple regression and cluster analyses: prasinophytes, diatoms, haptophytes and dinoflagellates. A remarkable interannual difference in the distribution pattern of the groups was found in the northern basin area. Haptophytes dominated and dispersed widely in warm surface waters in 2008, whereas prasinophytes dominated in cold water in 2009 and 2010. A difference in the onset date of sea ice retreat was evident among years – the sea ice retreat in 2008 was 1–2 months earlier than in 2009 and 2010. The spatial distribution of early sea ice retreat matched the areas in which a shift in algal community composition was observed. Steel-Dwass's multiple comparison tests were used to assess the physical, chemical and biological parameters of the four clusters. We found a statistically significant difference in temperature between the haptophyte-dominated cluster and the other clusters, suggesting that the change in the phytoplankton communities was related to the earlier sea ice retreat in 2008 and the corollary increase in sea surface temperatures. Longer periods of open water during the summer, which are expected in the future, may affect food webs and biogeochemical cycles in the western Arctic due to shifts in phytoplankton community structure.

scholarly journals Carbon and nitrogen turnover in the Arctic deep sea: in situ benthic community response to diatom and coccolithophorid phytodetritus

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ulrike Braeckman ◽  
Felix Janssen ◽  
Gaute Lavik ◽  
Marcus Elvert ◽  
Hannah Marchant ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Deep Sea ◽  
Benthic Communities ◽  
Community Response ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Carbon And Nitrogen ◽  
Nitrogen Turnover ◽  
Phytoplankton Communities ◽  
Ice Retreat ◽  
Sea Ice Retreat

Abstract. In the Arctic Ocean, increased sea surface temperature and sea ice retreat have triggered shifts in phytoplankton communities. In Fram Strait, coccolithophorids have been occasionally observed to replace diatoms as the dominating taxon of spring blooms. Deep-sea benthic communities depend strongly on such blooms but with a change in quality and quantity of primarily produced organic matter [OM] input, this may likely have implications for deep-sea life. We compared the in situ responses of Arctic deep-sea benthos to input of phytodetritus from a diatom (Thalassiosira sp.) and a coccolithophorid (Emiliania huxleyi) species. We traced the fate of 13C and 15N labelled phytodetritus into respiration, assimilation by bacteria and infauna in a 4 d and 14 d experiment. Bacteria were key assimilators in the Thalassiosira OM degradation whereas Foraminifera and other infauna were at least as important as bacteria in the Emiliania OM assimilation. After 14 d, 5 times less carbon and 3.8 times less nitrogen of the Emiliania detritus was recycled compared to Thalassiosira detritus. This implies that the utilization of Emiliania OM may be less efficient than for Thalassiosira OM. Our results indicate that a shift from diatom-dominated input to a coccolithophorid-dominated pulse could entail a delay in OM cycling, which may affect bentho-pelagic coupling.

scholarly journals Carbon and nitrogen turnover in the Arctic deep sea: in situ benthic community response to diatom and coccolithophorid phytodetritus

2018 ◽  
Vol 15 (21) ◽  
pp. 6537-6557 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ulrike Braeckman ◽  
Felix Janssen ◽  
Gaute Lavik ◽  
Marcus Elvert ◽  
Hannah Marchant ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Deep Sea ◽  
Benthic Communities ◽  
Community Response ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Carbon And Nitrogen ◽  
Nitrogen Turnover ◽  
Phytoplankton Communities ◽  
Ice Retreat ◽  
Sea Ice Retreat

Abstract. In the Arctic Ocean, increased sea surface temperature and sea ice retreat have triggered shifts in phytoplankton communities. In Fram Strait, coccolithophorids have been occasionally observed to replace diatoms as the dominating taxon of spring blooms. Deep-sea benthic communities depend strongly on such blooms, but with a change in quality and quantity of primarily produced organic matter (OM) input, this may likely have implications for deep-sea life. We compared the in situ responses of Arctic deep-sea benthos to input of phytodetritus from a diatom (Thalassiosira sp.) and a coccolithophorid (Emiliania huxleyi) species. We traced the fate of 13C- and 15N-labelled phytodetritus into respiration, assimilation by bacteria and infauna in a 4-day and 14-day experiment. Bacteria were key assimilators in the Thalassiosira OM degradation, whereas Foraminifera and other infauna were at least as important as bacteria in the Emiliania OM assimilation. After 14 days, 5 times less carbon and 3.8 times less nitrogen of the Emiliania detritus was recycled compared to Thalassiosira detritus. This implies that the utilization of Emiliania OM may be less efficient than for Thalassiosira OM. Our results indicate that a shift from diatom-dominated input to a coccolithophorid-dominated pulse could entail a delay in OM cycling, which may affect benthopelagic coupling.

scholarly journals The Response of the Nordic Seas to Wintertime Sea-ice Retreat

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-40
Author(s):  
Yue Wu ◽  
David P. Stevens ◽  
Ian A. Renfrew ◽  
Xiaoming Zhai
Keyword(s):  
Global Warming ◽  
Sea Ice ◽  
Climate Model ◽  
Sea Temperature ◽  
Nordic Seas ◽  
Ocean Response ◽  
Marginal Ice Zone ◽  
Ice Retreat ◽  
Ice Edge ◽  
Sea Ice Retreat

AbstractThe ocean response to wintertime sea-ice retreat is investigated in the coupled climate model HiGEM. We focus on the marginal ice zone and adjacent waters of the Nordic Seas, where the air-sea temperature difference can be large during periods of off-ice winds promoting high heat flux events. Both control and transient climate model ensembles are examined, which allows us to isolate the ocean response due to sea-ice retreat from the response due to climate change. As the wintertime sea-ice edge retreats towards the Greenland coastline, it exposes waters that were previously covered by ice which enhances turbulent heat loss and mechanical mixing, leading to a greater loss of buoyancy and deeper vertical mixing in this location. However, under global warming, the buoyancy loss is inhibited as the atmosphere warms more rapidly than the ocean which reduces the air-sea temperature difference. This occurs most prominently further away from the retreating ice edge, over the Greenland Sea gyre. Over the gyre the upper ocean also warms significantly, resulting in a more stratified water column and, as a consequence, a reduction in the depth of convective mixing. In contrast, closer to the coast the effect of global warming is overshadowed by the effect of the sea-ice retreat, leading to significant changes in ocean temperature and salinity in the vicinity of the marginal ice zone.

scholarly journals Evidence for benthic-pelagic food web coupling and carbon export from California margin bamboo coral archives

2014 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 2595-2621 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. M. Hill ◽  
C. R. Myrvold ◽  
H. J. Spero ◽  
T. P. Guilderson
Keyword(s):  
Primary Production ◽  
Deep Sea ◽  
Benthic Communities ◽  
California Current ◽  
Strong Relationship ◽  
Nitrogen Isotope ◽  
Carbon Export ◽  
Carbon And Nitrogen ◽  
Pelagic Food Webs

Abstract. Deep-sea bamboo corals (order Gorgonacea, family Isididae) are known to record changes in water mass chemistry over decades to centuries. These corals are composed of a two-part skeleton of calcite internodes segmented by gorgonin organic nodes. We examine the spatial variability of bamboo coral organic node 13C/12C and 15N/14N from thirteen bamboo coral specimens sampled along the California margin (37–32° N; 792 to 2136 m depth). Radiocarbon analyses of the organic nodes show the presence of the anthropogenic bomb spike, indicating the corals utilize a surface-derived food source (pre-bomb D14C values of ∼ −100‰, post-bomb values to 82‰). Carbon and nitrogen isotope data from the organic nodes (13C = −15.9‰ to −19.2‰ 15N = 13.8‰ to 19.4‰) suggest selective feeding on surface-derived organic matter or zooplankton. A strong relationship between coral 15N and habitat depth indicate a potential archive of changing carbon export, with decreased 15N values reflecting reduced microbial degradation (increased carbon flux) at shallower depths. Using four multi-centennial length coral records, we interpret long-term 15N stability in the California Current. Organic node 13C values record differences in carbon isotope fractionation dictated by nearshore vs. offshore primary production. These findings imply strong coupling between primary production, pelagic food webs, and deep-sea benthic communities.

scholarly journals Impacts of large-scale atmospheric circulation changes due to winter sea-ice retreat on Black Carbon transport and deposition to the Arctic

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luca Pozzoli ◽  
Srdan Dobricic ◽  
Simone Russo ◽  
Elisabetta Vignati
Keyword(s):  
Sea Ice ◽  
Atmospheric Circulation ◽  
North Atlantic ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Southern Oscillation ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
The North ◽  
Ice Retreat ◽  
The North Atlantic Oscillation ◽  
Sea Ice Retreat

Abstract. Winter warming and sea ice retreat observed in the Arctic in the last decades determine changes of large scale atmospheric circulation pattern that may impact as well the transport of black carbon (BC) to the Arctic and its deposition on the sea ice, with possible feedbacks on the regional and global climate forcing. In this study we developed and applied a new statistical algorithm, based on the Maximum Likelihood Estimate approach, to determine how the changes of three large scale weather patterns (the North Atlantic Oscillation, the Scandinavian Blocking, and the El Nino-Southern Oscillation), associated with winter increasing temperatures and sea ice retreat in the Arctic, impact the transport of BC to the Arctic and its deposition. We found that the three atmospheric patterns together determine a decreasing winter deposition trend of BC between 1980 and 2015 in the Eastern Arctic while they increase BC deposition in the Western Arctic. The increasing trend is mainly due to the more frequent occurrences of stable high pressure systems (atmospheric blocking) near Scandinavia favouring the transport in the lower troposphere of BC from Europe and North Atlantic directly into to the Arctic. The North Atlantic Oscillation has a smaller impact on BC deposition in the Arctic, but determines an increasing BC atmospheric load over the entire Arctic Ocean with increasing BC concentrations in the upper troposphere. The El Nino-Southern Oscillation does not influence significantly the transport and deposition of BC to the Arctic. The results show that changes in atmospheric circulation due to polar atmospheric warming and reduced winter sea ice significantly impacted BC transport and deposition. The anthropogenic emission reductions applied in the last decades were, therefore, crucial to counterbalance the most likely trend of increasing BC pollution in the Arctic.

scholarly journals On the freshening of the northwestern Weddell Sea continental shelf

Ocean Science ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 305-316 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. H. Hellmer ◽  
O. Huhn ◽  
D. Gomis ◽  
R. Timmermann
Keyword(s):  
Sea Ice ◽  
Continental Shelf ◽  
Weddell Sea ◽  
Central Basin ◽  
Thermal Front ◽  
Late 20Th Century ◽  
Ice Shelves ◽  
Ice Retreat ◽  
Reduced Salt ◽  
Sea Ice Retreat

Abstract. We analyzed hydrographic data from the northwestern Weddell Sea continental shelf of the three austral winters 1989, 1997, and 2006 and two summers following the last winter cruise. During summer a thermal front exists at ~64° S separating cold southern waters from warm northern waters that have similar characteristics as the deep waters of the central basin of the Bransfield Strait. In winter, the whole continental shelf exhibits southern characteristics with high Neon (Ne) concentrations, indicating a significant input of glacial melt water. The comparison of the winter data from the shallow shelf off the tip of the Antarctic Peninsula, spanning a period of 17 yr, shows a salinity decrease of 0.09 for the whole water column, which has a residence time of <1 yr. We interpret this freshening as being caused by a combination of reduced salt input due to a southward sea ice retreat and higher precipitation during the late 20th century on the western Weddell Sea continental shelf. However, less salinification might also result from a delicate interplay between enhanced salt input due to sea ice formation in coastal areas formerly occupied by Larsen A and B ice shelves and increased Larsen C ice loss.

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