scholarly journals Shift from Carbon Flow through the Microbial Loop to the Viral Shunt in Coastal Antarctic Waters during Austral Summer

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 460
Author(s):  
Claire Evans ◽  
Joost Brandsma ◽  
Michael P. Meredith ◽  
David N. Thomas ◽  
Hugh J. Venables ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Austral Summer ◽  
Early Summer ◽  
Microbial Loop ◽  
Carbon Flow ◽  
Trophic Levels ◽  
Viral Production ◽  
Antarctic Waters ◽  
Heterotrophic Nanoflagellate ◽  
Flow Through ◽  
The Antarctic

The relative flow of carbon through the viral shunt and the microbial loop is a pivotal factor controlling the contribution of secondary production to the food web and to rates of nutrient remineralization and respiration. The current study examines the significance of these processes in the coastal waters of the Antarctic during the productive austral summer months. Throughout the study a general trend towards lower bacterioplankton and heterotrophic nanoflagellate (HNF) abundances was observed, whereas virioplankton concentration increased. A corresponding decline of HNF grazing rates and shift towards viral production, indicative of viral infection, was measured. Carbon flow mediated by HNF grazing decreased by more than half from 5.7 µg C L−1 day−1 on average in December and January to 2.4 µg C L−1 day−1 in February. Conversely, carbon flow through the viral shunt increased substantially over the study from on average 0.9 µg C L−1 day−1 in December to 7.6 µg C L−1 day−1 in February. This study shows that functioning of the coastal Antarctic microbial community varied considerably over the productive summer months. In early summer, the system favors transfer of matter and energy to higher trophic levels via the microbial loop, however towards the end of summer carbon flow is redirected towards the viral shunt, causing a switch towards more recycling and therefore increased respiration and regeneration.

scholarly journals Regulation of Microbial Activity Rates by Organic Matter in the Ross Sea during the Austral Summer 2017

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (9) ◽  
pp. 1273
Author(s):  
Renata Zaccone ◽  
Cristina Misic ◽  
Filippo Azzaro ◽  
Maurizio Azzaro ◽  
Giovanna Maimone ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Organic Matter ◽  
Ross Sea ◽  
Austral Summer ◽  
Trophic Levels ◽  
Offshore Area ◽  
Terra Nova Bay ◽  
Prokaryotic Abundance ◽  
Microbiological Parameters ◽  
Terra Nova ◽  
The Antarctic

The active prokaryotic communities proliferate in the ecosystems of the Antarctic Ocean, participating in biogeochemical cycles and supporting higher trophic levels. They are regulated by several environmental and ecological forcing, such as the characteristics of the water masses subjected to global warming and particulate organic matter (POM). During summer 2017, two polynyas in the Ross Sea were studied to evaluate key-microbiological parameters (the proteasic, glucosidasic, and phosphatasic activities, the microbial respiratory rates, the prokaryotic abundance and biomass) in relation to quantitative and qualitative characteristics of POM. Results showed significant differences in the epipelagic layer between two macro-areas (Terra Nova Bay and Ross Sea offshore area). Proteins and carbohydrates were metabolized rapidly in the offshore area (as shown by turnover times), due to high enzymatic activities in this zone, indicating fresh and labile organic compounds. The lower quality of POM in Terra Nova Bay, as shown by the higher refractory fraction, led to an increase in the turnover times of proteins and carbohydrates. Salinity was the physical constraint that played a major role in the distribution of POM and microbial activities in both areas.

scholarly journals Ocean–atmosphere exchange of organic carbon and CO<sub>2</sub> surrounding the Antarctic Peninsula

2014 ◽  
Vol 11 (10) ◽  
pp. 2755-2770 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Ruiz-Halpern ◽  
M. Ll. Calleja ◽  
J. Dachs ◽  
S. Del Vento ◽  
M. Pastor ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Organic Carbon ◽  
Dissolved Organic Carbon ◽  
Antarctic Peninsula ◽  
Austral Summer ◽  
Migration Patterns ◽  
Chl A ◽  
Diel Cycles ◽  
Antarctic Waters ◽  
Gaseous Fraction ◽  
The Antarctic

Abstract. Exchangeable organic carbon (OC) dynamics and CO2 fluxes in the Antarctic Peninsula during austral summer were highly variable, but the region appeared to be a net sink for OC and nearly in balance for CO2. Surface exchangeable dissolved organic carbon (EDOC) measurements had a 43 ± 3 (standard error, hereafter SE) μmol C L−1 overall mean and represented around 66% of surface non-purgeable dissolved organic carbon (DOC) in Antarctic waters, while the mean concentration of the gaseous fraction of organic carbon (GOC H–1) was 46 ± 3 SE μmol C L−1. There was a tendency towards low fugacity of dissolved CO2 (fCO2-w) in waters with high chlorophyll a (Chl a) content and high fCO2-w in areas with high krill densities. However, such relationships were not found for EDOC. The depth profiles of EDOC were also quite variable and occasionally followed Chl a profiles. The diel cycles of EDOC showed two distinct peaks, in the middle of the day and the middle of the short austral dark period, concurrent with solar radiation maxima and krill night migration patterns. However, no evident diel pattern for GOC H–1 or CO2 was observed. The pool of exchangeable OC is an important and active compartment of the carbon budget surrounding the Antarctic Peninsula and adds to previous studies highlighting its importance in the redistribution of carbon in marine environments.

Consumption of Antarctic krill by Minke whales

1991 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 13-18 ◽  
Author(s):  
A.J. Armstrong ◽  
W.R. Siegfried
Keyword(s):  
Antarctic Krill ◽  
Ingestion Rate ◽  
Austral Summer ◽  
Euphausia Superba ◽  
Minke Whale ◽  
Balaenoptera Acutorostrata ◽  
Minke Whales ◽  
Antarctic Waters ◽  
The Antarctic ◽  
Sexually Mature

The consumption of Antarctic krill (Euphausia superba) by an “average-sized” (male 6994 kg; female 8249 kg), sexually mature Minke whale (Balaenoptera acutorostrata) was estimated, from stomach capacity, ingestion rate and respiratory allometry methods. Estimates obtained from the stomach capacity and respiratory allometry methods differed by 17%–23%. An “average-sized” male Minke whale consumes 37.2 t of krill during a 90-day stay, and an “average-sized” female Minke whale consumes 56.2 t of krill during a 120-day stay, in Antarctic waters during the austral summer. It is estimated that the Minke whale population in the Antarctic (60°S and higher) consumes 35.5 × 106 t of krill annually.

scholarly journals The future of scientific drilling in Antarctic waters

1992 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-1 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ian W.D. Dalziel
Keyword(s):  
Austral Summer ◽  
Ice Shelf ◽  
Scientific Drilling ◽  
Ocean Drilling ◽  
The Past ◽  
Amery Ice Shelf ◽  
Antarctic Waters ◽  
Antarctic Continent ◽  
The Antarctic ◽  
Considerable Concern

Over the past twenty years, nine legs of the Ocean Drilling Programme (ODP) and its predecessor the Deep Sea Drilling Project have been conducted at high southern latitudes (>45°S). Only four have taken place near the margins of the Antarctic continent (>60°S), the last off the Amery Ice Shelf in 1988. At present, JOIDES Resolution is drilling on the Chile Rise-Chile Trench triple junction (46°S), but she will return to lower latitudes at the end of this leg (#141). The Planning Committee of ODP has already approved a schedule that precludes a return to the Antarctic prior to the 1994–95 austral summer at the earliest. Few proposals for Antarctic drilling have even been submitted in recent years; none has received high ranking. This should be a matter of considerable concern to the Antarctic earth sciences community. The JOIDES Resolution is an international asset with a unique sampling capability but the lifetime of the ODP may not extend beyond 1998.

Diatom Fouling of the Little Picked Whales in the Antarctic Waters

2012 ◽  
Vol 48 (1) ◽  
pp. 28-34 ◽  
Author(s):  
V. L. Zinchenko ◽  
V. P. Gerasimyuk
Keyword(s):  
Antarctic Waters ◽  
The Antarctic

Observations on moulting in Antarctic Krill (Euphausia superba Dana)

1982 ◽  
Vol 33 (1) ◽  
pp. 71 ◽  
Author(s):  
T Ikeda ◽  
P Dixon
Keyword(s):  
Phaeodactylum Tricornutum ◽  
Antarctic Krill ◽  
Dry Weight ◽  
Euphausia Superba ◽  
Dunaliella Tertiolecta ◽  
Antarctic Ocean ◽  
Fish Food ◽  
Antarctic Waters ◽  
The Antarctic ◽  
Antarctic Krill Euphausia Superba

Live E. superba were transported from Antarctic waters to a tropical laboratory where observations at the temperature of -0.5�C (0 to - 1.0�C), were made of intermoult period of specimens fed a mixture of microalgae (Dunaliella tertiolecta and Phaeodactylum tricornutum) or artificial pet fish food or starved. Mean intermoult period was 26.4-27.1 days for fed specimens and 29.6 days for starved specimens, with no relation to the size of specimens. The moult accounted for a loss of 2.63-4.35% of animal dry weight, which is equivalent to 1.1-1.8% of animal nitrogen or 1.4-2.3% of animal carbon. The contribution of moults to detritus in the Antarctic Ocean was estimated as 0.11 g C m-2 per year.

scholarly journals An Assessment of ERA5 Reanalysis for Antarctic Near-Surface Air Temperature

Atmosphere ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 217
Author(s):  
Jiangping Zhu ◽  
Aihong Xie ◽  
Xiang Qin ◽  
Yetang Wang ◽  
Bing Xu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Linear Relationship ◽  
Antarctic Peninsula ◽  
Austral Summer ◽  
Correlation Coefficients ◽  
East Antarctica ◽  
West Antarctica ◽  
Austral Spring ◽  
Reanalysis Dataset ◽  
Near Surface ◽  
The Antarctic

The European Center for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) released its latest reanalysis dataset named ERA5 in 2017. To assess the performance of ERA5 in Antarctica, we compare the near-surface temperature data from ERA5 and ERA-Interim with the measured data from 41 weather stations. ERA5 has a strong linear relationship with monthly observations, and the statistical significant correlation coefficients (p < 0.05) are higher than 0.95 at all stations selected. The performance of ERA5 shows regional differences, and the correlations are high in West Antarctica and low in East Antarctica. Compared with ERA5, ERA-Interim has a slightly higher linear relationship with observations in the Antarctic Peninsula. ERA5 agrees well with the temperature observations in austral spring, with significant correlation coefficients higher than 0.90 and bias lower than 0.70 °C. The temperature trend from ERA5 is consistent with that from observations, in which a cooling trend dominates East Antarctica and West Antarctica, while a warming trend exists in the Antarctic Peninsula except during austral summer. Generally, ERA5 can effectively represent the temperature changes in Antarctica and its three subregions. Although ERA5 has bias, ERA5 can play an important role as a powerful tool to explore the climate change in Antarctica with sparse in situ observations.

scholarly journals Sea State Monitoring by Ship Motion Measurements Onboard a Research Ship in the Antarctic Waters

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 64
Author(s):  
Silvia Pennino ◽  
Antonio Angrisano ◽  
Vincenzo Della Corte ◽  
Giampaolo Ferraioli ◽  
Salvatore Gaglione ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Transfer Functions ◽  
Wave Spectrum ◽  
Weather Forecast ◽  
Ship Motion ◽  
State Monitoring ◽  
Sea State ◽  
Peak Period ◽  
Research Ship ◽  
Antarctic Waters ◽  
The Antarctic

A parametric wave spectrum resembling procedure is applied to detect the sea state parameters, namely the wave peak period and significant wave height, based on the measurement and analysis of the heave and pitch motions of a vessel in a seaway, recorded by a smartphone located onboard the ship. The measurement system makes it possible to determine the heave and pitch acceleration spectra of the reference ship in the encounter frequency domain and, subsequently, the absolute sea spectra once the ship motion transfer functions are provided. The measurements have been carried out onboard the research ship “Laura Bassi”, during the oceanographic campaign in the Antarctic Ocean carried out in January and February 2020. The resembled sea spectra are compared with the weather forecast data, provided by the global-WAM (GWAM) model, in order to validate the sea spectrum resembling procedure.

scholarly journals Characteristics of The Seasonal Sea Ice of East Antarctica and Comparisons with Satellite Observations

1987 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
pp. 85-91 ◽  
Author(s):  
T.H. Jacka ◽  
I. Allison ◽  
R. Thwaites ◽  
J.C. Wilson
Keyword(s):  
Sea Ice ◽  
Remote Sensing Data ◽  
Ice Cores ◽  
Open Water ◽  
Early Spring ◽  
Visual Channel ◽  
Antarctic Waters ◽  
Study Characteristics ◽  
Satellite Sensors ◽  
The Antarctic

A cruise to Antarctic waters from late October to mid December 1985 provided the opportunity to study characteristics of the seasonal sea ice from a time close to that of maximum extent through early spring decay. The area covered by the observations extends from the northern ice limit to the Antarctic coast between long. 50 °E and 80 E. Shipboard observations included ice extent, type and thickness, and snow depth. Ice cores were drilled at several sites, providing data on salinity and structure.The observations verify the highly dynamic and divergent nature of the Antarctic seasonal sea-ice 2one. Floe size and thickness varied greatly at all locations, although generally increasing from north to south. A high percentage of the total ice mass exhibited a frazil crystal structure, indicative of the existence of open water in the vicinity.The ground based observations are compared with observations from satellite sensors. The remote sensing data include the visual channel imagery from NOAA 6, NOAA 9, and Meteor 11. Comparisons are made with the operational ice charts produced (mainly from satellite data) by the Joint Ice Center, and with the analyses available by facsimile from Molodezhnaya.

scholarly journals Evolution of Antarctic ozone in September–December predicted by CCMVal-2 model simulations for the 21st century

2013 ◽  
Vol 13 (8) ◽  
pp. 4413-4427 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. M. Siddaway ◽  
S. V. Petelina ◽  
D. J. Karoly ◽  
A. R. Klekociuk ◽  
R. J. Dargaville
Keyword(s):  
21St Century ◽  
Climate Model ◽  
Polar Vortex ◽  
Early Summer ◽  
Slow Increase ◽  
Large Variability ◽  
Model Simulations ◽  
Antarctic Ozone ◽  
Decadal Rate ◽  
The Antarctic

Abstract. Chemistry-Climate Model Validation phase 2 (CCMVal-2) model simulations are used to analyze Antarctic ozone increases in 2000–2100 during local spring and early summer, both vertically integrated and at several pressure levels in the lower stratosphere. Multi-model median trends of monthly zonal mean total ozone column (TOC), ozone volume mixing ratio (VMR), wind speed and temperature poleward of 60° S are investigated. Median values are used to account for large variability in models, and the associated uncertainty is calculated using a bootstrapping technique. According to the trend derived from the twelve CCMVal-2 models selected, Antarctic TOC will not return to a 1965 baseline, an average of 1960–1969 values, by the end of the 21st century in September–November, but will return in ~2080 in December. The speed of December ozone depletion before 2000 was slower compared to spring months, and thus the decadal rate of December TOC increase after 2000 is also slower. Projected trends in December ozone VMR at 20–100 hPa show a much slower rate of ozone recovery, particularly at 50–70 hPa, than for spring months. Trends in temperature and winds at 20–150 hPa are also analyzed in order to attribute the projected slow increase of December ozone and to investigate future changes in the Antarctic atmosphere in general, including some aspects of the polar vortex breakup.

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