Geophysical Research Letters 36 (2009) L17601; doi:10.1029/2009GL038837
Contribution of under-ice primary production to an ice-edge upwelling phytoplankton bloom in the Canadian Beaufort Sea
The Canadian Beaufort Sea has been categorized
as an oligotrophic system with the potential for enhanced production due
to
a nutrient-rich intermediate layer of
Pacific-origin waters. Using under-ice hydrographic data collected near
the ice-edge
of a shallow Arctic bay, we documented an
ice-edge upwelling event that brought nutrient-rich waters to the
surface during
June 2008. The event resulted in a 3-week-long
phytoplankton bloom that produced an estimated 31 g C m−2
of new production. This value was approximately twice that of previous
estimates for annual production in the region, demonstrating
the importance of ice-edge upwelling to the
local marine ecosystem. Under-ice primary production estimates of up to
0.31 g
C m−2 d−1
showed that this production was not negligible, contributing up to 22%
of the daily averaged production of the ice-edge bloom.
It is suggested that under-ice blooms are a
widespread yet under-documented phenomenon in polar regions, which could
increase
in importance with the Arctic's thinning ice
cover and subsequent increase in transmitted irradiance to the under-ice
environment.
Received 22
April
2009;
accepted 31
July
2009;
published 1
September
2009.
Citation:
(2009). Contribution of under-ice primary production to an ice-edge upwelling phytoplankton bloom in the Canadian Beaufort Sea,
Geophys. Res. Lett.,
36,
L17601,
doi:10.1029/2009GL038837.
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