| Title | Phytoplankton production after the collapse of the Larsen A Ice Shelf, Antarctica |
| Author | Bertolin, M.L.; Schloss, I.R. |
| Author Affil | Bertolin, M.L., Instituto Antártico Argentino, Buenos Aires, Argentina |
| Source | Polar Biology, 32(10), p.1435-1446, . Publisher: Springer-Verlag, Berlin, Federal Republic of Germany. ISSN: 0722- 4060 |
| Publication Date | Oct. 2009 |
| Notes | In English. Based on Publisher- supplied data Ant. Acc. No: 87386. GeoRef Acc. No: 296834 |
| Index Terms | algae; biomass; chlorophylls; ecology; geochemical cycles; ice shelves; plankton; plant ecology; Antarctica--Larsen Ice Shelf; Southern Ocean; Antarctic Peninsula; Antarctica; carbon; carbon cycle; carbon dioxide; chlorophyll; diatoms; geochemical cycle; Larsen Ice Shelf; organic compounds; phytoplankton; pigments; Plantae; productivity |
| Abstract | Part of the Larsen A Ice Shelf (64°15S to 74°15S) collapsed during January 1995. A first oceanographic and biological data set from the newly free waters was obtained during December 1996. Typical shelf waters with temperatures near and below the freezing point were found. A nutrient-rich water mass was found between 70 and 200 m depth. Chlorophyll-a (Chl-a) values were high; surface oxygen saturation ranged between 86 and 148%. Diatoms of the genera Nitzschia and Navicula and the prymnesiophyte Phaeocystis sp. were the most abundant taxa found. Mean daily primary production (Pc) estimated from nutrient consumption was 14.80±0.17 mgC m-3 day-1. Pc was significantly correlated with total diatom abundance and Chl-a. Calculated Delta pCO2 (difference of the CO2 partial pressure between surface seawater and the atmosphere) was -30.5 µatm, which could have contributed to a net CO2 flux from the atmosphere to the sea and suggests the area has been a CO2 sink during the studied period. High phytoplankton biomass and production values were found in this freshly open area, suggesting its importance for biological CO2 pumping. |
| URL | http://hdl.handle.net/10.1007/s00300-009-0638-x |
| Publication Type | journal article |
| Record ID | 64001898 |