The objective of this study was to assess experimentally the potential impact of anthropogenic pH perturbation (ApHP) on concentrations of dimethyl sulfide (DMS) and dimethylsulfoniopropionate (DMSP), as well as processes governing the microbial cycling of sulfur compounds. A summer planktonic community from surface waters of the Lower St. Lawrence Estuary was monitored in microcosms over 12 days under three pCO 2 targets: 1 × pCO 2 (775 µatm), 2 × pCO 2 (1,850 µatm), and 3 × pCO 2 (2,700 µatm). A mixed phytoplankton bloom comprised of diatoms and unidentified flagellates developed over the course of the experiment. The magnitude and timing of biomass buildup, measured by chlorophyll a concentration, changed in the 3 × pCO 2 treatment, reaching about half the peak chlorophyll a concentration measured in the 1 × pCO 2 treatment, with a 2-day lag. Doubling and tripling the pCO 2 resulted in a 15% and 40% decline in average concentrations of DMS compared to the control. Results from 35 S-DMSP d uptake assays indicated that neither concentrations nor microbial scavenging efficiency of dissolved DMSP was affected by increased pCO 2 . However, our results show a reduction of the mean microbial yield of DMS by 34% and 61% in the 2 × pCO 2 and 3 × pCO 2 treatments, respectively. DMS concentrations correlated positively with microbial yields of DMS (Spearman’s ρ = 0.65; P < 0.001), suggesting that the impact of ApHP on concentrations of DMS in diatom-dominated systems may be strongly linked with alterations of the microbial breakdown of dissolved DMSP. Findings from this study provide further empirical evidence of the sensitivity of the microbial DMSP switch under ApHP. Because even small modifications in microbial regulatory mechanisms of DMSP can elicit changes in atmospheric chemistry via dampened efflux of DMS, results from this study may contribute to a better comprehension of Earth’s future climate.

The Hudson Bay System (HBS), the world’s largest inland sea, has experienced disproportionate atmospheric warming and sea-ice decline relative to the whole Arctic Ocean during the last few decades. The establishment of almost continuous positive atmospheric air temperature anomalies since the late 1990s impacted its primary productivity and, consequently, the marine ecosystem. Here, four decades of archived satellite ocean color were analyzed together with sea-ice and climatic conditions to better understand the response of the HBS to climate forcing concerning phytoplankton dynamics. Using satellite-derived chlorophyll-a concentration [ Chla ], we examined the spatiotemporal variability of phytoplankton concentration with a focus on its phenology throughout the marginal ice zone. In recent years, phytoplankton phenology was dominated by two peaks of [ Chla ] during the ice-free period. The first peak occurs during the spring-to-summer transition and the second one happens in the fall, contrasting with the single bloom observed earlier (1978–1983). The ice-edge bloom, that is, the peak in [ Chla ] immediately found after the sea-ice retreat, showed substantial spatial and interannual variability. During the spring-to-summer transition, early sea-ice retreat resulted in ice-edge bloom intensification. In the northwest polynya, a marine wildlife hot spot, the correlation between climate indices, that is, the North Atlantic Oscillation and Arctic Oscillation (NAO/AO), and [ Chla ] indicated that the bloom responds to large-scale atmospheric circulation patterns in the North Hemisphere. The intensification of westerly winds caused by the strong polar vortex during positive NAO/AO phases favors the formation of the polynya, where ice production and export, brine rejection, and nutrient replenishment are more efficient. As a result, the winter climate preconditions the upper layer of the HBS for the subsequent development of ice-edge blooms. In the context of a decline in the NAO/AO strength related to Arctic warming, primary productivity is likely to decrease in the HBS and the northwest polynya in particular.

Measurements of net community production (NCP) provide an upper constraint on the strength of the oceanic biological pump, the dominant mechanism for removing CO 2 from the ocean surface and sequestering it at depth. In this investigation, our objectives were to describe the spatial and temporal variability of NCP associated with the spring ice-edge bloom in Baffin Bay and to identify the key environmental drivers controlling its variability. Using data collected between June 9 and July 10, 2016, we estimated NCP based on (1) underway measurements of surface water oxygen to argon ratios (O 2 :Ar), (2) underway measurements of the partial pressure of CO 2 , and (3) seasonal nitrate drawdown from discrete samples. These multiple approaches displayed high NCP (up to 5.7 mol C m –2 ) in eastern Baffin Bay, associated with modified Atlantic waters, and low NCP (<1 mol C m –2 ) in the presence of Arctic outflow waters in western Baffin Bay. Arctic outflow waters were characterized by low surface salinities and nitrate concentrations, suggesting that high freshwater content may have limited the nutrient availability of these waters. Different integration depths and timescales associated with each NCP approach were exploited to understand the temporal progression and succession of the bloom, revealing that the bloom was initiated under ice up to 15 days prior to ice retreat and that a large portion of NCP in eastern Baffin Bay (potentially up to 70%) was driven by primary production occurring below the surface-mixed layer.

The decline of sea-ice thickness, area, and volume due to the transition from multi-year to first-year sea ice has improved the under-ice light environment for pelagic Arctic ecosystems. One unexpected and direct consequence of this transition, the proliferation of under-ice phytoplankton blooms (UIBs), challenges the paradigm that waters beneath the ice pack harbor little planktonic life. Little is known about the diversity and spatial distribution of UIBs in the Arctic Ocean, or the environmental drivers behind their timing, magnitude, and taxonomic composition. Here, we compiled a unique and comprehensive dataset from seven major research projects in the Arctic Ocean (11 expeditions, covering the spring sea-ice-covered period to summer ice-free conditions) to identify the environmental drivers responsible for initiating and shaping the magnitude and assemblage structure of UIBs. The temporal dynamics behind UIB formation are related to the ways that snow and sea-ice conditions impact the under-ice light field. In particular, the onset of snowmelt significantly increased under-ice light availability (>0.1–0.2 mol photons m –2 d –1 ), marking the concomitant termination of the sea-ice algal bloom and initiation of UIBs. At the pan-Arctic scale, bloom magnitude (expressed as maximum chlorophyll a concentration) was predicted best by winter water Si(OH) 4 and PO 4 3– concentrations, as well as Si(OH) 4 :NO 3 – and PO 4 3– :NO 3 – drawdown ratios, but not NO 3 – concentration. Two main phytoplankton assemblages dominated UIBs (diatoms or Phaeocystis ), driven primarily by the winter nitrate:silicate (NO 3 – :Si(OH) 4 ) ratio and the under-ice light climate. Phaeocystis co-dominated in low Si(OH) 4 (i.e., NO 3 :Si(OH) 4 molar ratios >1) waters, while diatoms contributed the bulk of UIB biomass when Si(OH) 4 was high (i.e., NO 3 :Si(OH) 4 molar ratios <1). The implications of such differences in UIB composition could have important ramifications for Arctic biogeochemical cycles, and ultimately impact carbon flow to higher trophic levels and the deep ocean.

Baffin Bay, located at the Arctic Ocean’s ‘doorstep’, is a heterogeneous environment where a warm and salty eastern current flows northwards in the opposite direction of a cold and relatively fresh Arctic current flowing along the west coast of the bay. This circulation affects the physical and biogeochemical environment on both sides of the bay. The phytoplanktonic species composition is driven by its environment and, in turn, shapes carbon transfer through the planktonic food web. This study aims at determining the effects of such contrasting environments on ecosystem structure and functioning and the consequences for the carbon cycle. Ecological indices calculated from food web flow values provide ecosystem properties that are not accessible by direct in situ measurement. From new biological data gathered during the Green Edge project, we built a planktonic food web model for each side of Baffin Bay, considering several biological processes involved in the carbon cycle, notably in the gravitational, lipid, and microbial carbon pumps. Missing flow values were estimated by linear inverse modeling. Calculated ecological network analysis indices revealed significant differences in the functioning of each ecosystem. The eastern Baffin Bay food web presents a more specialized food web that constrains carbon through specific and efficient pathways, leading to segregation of the microbial loop from the classical grazing chain. In contrast, the western food web showed redundant and shorter pathways that caused a higher carbon export, especially via lipid and microbial pumps, and thus promoted carbon sequestration. Moreover, indirect effects resulting from bottom-up and top-down control impacted pairwise relations between species differently and led to the dominance of mutualism in the eastern food web. These differences in pairwise relations affect the dynamics and evolution of each food web and thus might lead to contrasting responses to ongoing climate change.

The Arctic Ocean is particularly affected by climate change, with changes in sea ice cover expected to impact phytoplankton primary production. During the Green Edge expedition, the development of the late spring–early summer diatom bloom was studied in relation with the sea ice retreat by multiple transects across the marginal ice zone. Biogenic silica concentrations and uptake rates were measured. In addition, diatom assemblage structures and their associated carbon biomass were determined, along with taxon-specific contributions to total biogenic silica production using the fluorescent dye PDMPO. Results indicate that a diatom bloom developed in open waters close to the ice edge, following the alleviation of light limitation, and extended 20–30 km underneath the ice pack. This actively growing diatom bloom (up to 0.19 μmol Si L –1 d –1 ) was associated with high biogenic silica concentrations (up to 2.15 μmol L –1 ), and was dominated by colonial fast-growing centric ( Chaetoceros spp. and Thalassiosira spp.) and ribbon-forming pennate species ( Fragilariopsis spp./ Fossula arctica ). The bloom remained concentrated over the shallow Greenland shelf and slope, in Atlantic-influenced waters, and weakened as it moved westwards toward ice-free Pacific-influenced waters. The development resulted in a near depletion of all nutrients eastwards of the bay, which probably induced the formation of resting spores of Melosira arctica . In contrast, under the ice pack, nutrients had not yet been consumed. Biogenic silica and uptake rates were still low (respectively <0.5 μmol L –1 and <0.05 μmol L –1 d –1 ), although elevated specific Si uptake rates (up to 0.23 d –1 ) probably reflected early stages of the bloom. These diatoms were dominated by pennate species ( Pseudo-nitzschia spp., Ceratoneis closterium , and Fragilariopsis spp./ Fossula arctica ). This study can contribute to predictions of the future response of Arctic diatoms in the context of climate change.

Sea ice algae are an important contributor of primary production in the Arctic ecosystem. Within the bottom-ice environment, access to nutrients from the underlying ocean is a major factor controlling production, phenology, and taxonomic composition of ice algae. Previous studies have demonstrated that tides and currents play an important role in driving the flux of nutrients to bottom-ice algal communities when biological demand during the spring bloom is high. In this study we investigate how surface currents under landfast first-year ice influence nutrient supply based on stoichiometric composition, algal chlorophyll a biomass and species composition during spring 2016, in Dease Strait, Nunavut. Stronger water dynamics over a shoaled and constricted strait dominated by tidal currents (tidal strait) supported turbulent flow more than 85% of the deployment duration in comparison to outside the tidal strait in an embayment where turbulent flow was only evidenced a small percentage (<15%) of the time. The system appeared to be nitrate-depleted with surface water concentrations averaging 1.3 μmol L –1 . Increased currents were correlated significantly with a decrease in ice thickness and an increase in ice algal chlorophyll a . Furthermore, pennate diatoms dominated the ice algal community abundance with greater contribution within the strait where currents were greatest. These observations all support the existence of a greater nutrient flux to the ice bottom where currents increased towards the center of the tidal strait, resulting in an increase of bottom ice chlorophyll a biomass by 5–7 times relative to that outside of the strait. Therefore, expanding beyond the long identified biological hotspots of open water polynyas, this paper presents the argument for newly identified hotspots in regions of strong sub-ice currents but persistent ice covers, so called “invisible polynyas”.

During summer, phytoplankton can bloom in the Arctic Ocean, both in open water and under ice, often strongly linked to the retreating ice edge. There, the surface ocean responds to steep lateral gradients in ice melt, mixing, and light input, shaping the Arctic ecosystem in unique ways not found in other regions of the world ocean. In 2016, we sampled a high-resolution grid of 135 hydrographic stations in Baffin Bay as part of the Green Edge project to study the ice-edge bloom, including turbulent vertical mixing, the under-ice light field, concentrations of inorganic nutrients, and phytoplankton biomass. We found pronounced differences between an Atlantic sector dominated by the warm West Greenland Current and an Arctic sector with surface waters originating from the Canadian archipelago. Winter overturning and thus nutrient replenishment was hampered by strong haline stratification in the Arctic domain, whereas close to the West Greenland shelf, weak stratification permitted winter mixing with high-nitrate Atlantic-derived waters. Using a space-for-time approach, we linked upper ocean dynamics to the phytoplankton bloom trailing the retreating ice edge. In a band of 60 km (or 15 days) around the ice edge, the upper ocean was especially affected by a freshened surface layer. Light climate, as evidenced by deep 0.415 mol m –2 d –1 isolumes, and vertical mixing, as quantified by shallow mixing layer depths, should have permitted significant net phytoplankton growth more than 100 km into the pack ice at ice concentrations close to 100%. Yet, under-ice biomass was relatively low at 20 mg chlorophyll-a m –2 and depth-integrated total chlorophyll-a (0–80 m) peaked at an average value of 75 mg chlorophyll-a m –2 only around 10 days after ice retreat. This phenological peak may hence have been the delayed result of much earlier bloom initiation and demonstrates the importance of temporal dynamics for constraints of Arctic marine primary production.

Coastal upwelling systems off the coasts of Peru and Chile are among the most productive marine ecosystems in the world, sustaining a significant percentage of global primary production and fishery yields. Seasonal and interannual variability in these systems has been relatively well documented; however, an understanding of recent trends and the influence of climate change on marine processes such as surface cooling and primary productivity is limited. This study presents evidence that winds favorable to upwelling have increased within the southern boundary of the Humboldt Current System (35°–42°S) in recent decades. This trend is consistent with a poleward movement of the influence of the Southeast Pacific Anticyclone and resembles the spatial pattern projected by Global Circulation Models for warming scenarios. Chlorophyll a levels (from 2002 to present) determined by satellite and field-based time-series observations show a positive trend, mainly in austral spring–summer (December–January–February), potentially explained by observed increments in nutrient flux towards surface waters and photosynthetically active radiation. Both parameters appear to respond to alongshore wind stress and cloud cover in the latitudinal range of 35°S to 42°S. In addition, net annual deepening of the mixed layer depth is estimated using density and temperature profiles. Changes in this depth are associated with increasing winds and may explain cooler, more saline, and more productive surface waters, with the latter potentially causing fluctuations in dissolved oxygen and other gases, such as nitrous oxide, sensitive to changes in oxygenation. We argue that these recent changes represent, at least in part, a regional manifestation of the Anthropocene along the Chilean coast.

Glacial meltwater discharge in fjords on the west coast of Spitsbergen is increasing due to climate change. The influence of this discharge on phytoplankton nutrient limitation, composition, productivity and photophysiology was investigated in central (M) and inner (G) Kongsfjorden (79°N, 11°40’E). Freshwater influx intensified stratification during June 2015, coinciding with surface nutrient depletion. Surface nutrient concentrations were negatively correlated with stratification strength at station M. Here, nitrate addition assays revealed increasing N limitation of surface phytoplankton during the second half of June, which was followed by a pronounced compositional change within the flagellate-dominated phytoplankton community as dictyochophytes (85% of chl a ) were replaced with smaller haptophytes (up to 60% of chlorophyll a ) and prasinophytes (20% of chlorophyll a ). These changes were less pronounced at station G, where surface phosphate, ammonium and nitrate concentrations were occasionally higher, and correlated with wind direction, suggesting wind-mediated transport of nutrient-enriched waters to this inner location. Therefore, glacial meltwater discharge mediated nutrient enrichment in the inner fjord, and enhanced stratification in inner and central Kongsfjorden. Surface chlorophyll a and water column productivity showed 3–4-fold variability, and did not correlate with nutrient limitation, euphotic zone depth, or changed taxonomic composition. However, the maximum carbon fixation rate and photosynthetic efficiency showed weak positive correlations to prasinophyte, cryptophyte, and haptophyte chlorophyll a . The present study documented relationships between stratification, N limitation, and changed phytoplankton composition, but surface chlorophyll a concentration, phytoplankton photosynthetic characteristics, and water column productivity in Kongsfjorden appeared to be driven by mechanisms other than N limitation.

Increased sea ice melt alters vertical surface-mixing processes in Arctic seas. More melt water strengthens the stratification, but an absent ice cover also exposes the uppermost part of the water column to wind-induced mixing processes. We conducted a field study in the Barents Sea, an Arctic shelf sea, to examine the effects of stratification and vertical mixing processes on 1) the upward nitrate flux (into surface layers <65 m) and 2) the downward flux of particulate organic carbon (POC) to ≤200 m. In the Arctic-influenced, drift ice-covered northern Barents Sea, we found a low upward nitrate flux into the surface layers (<0.1 mmol nitrate m –2 d –1 ) and a moderate downward POC flux (40–200 m: 150–250 mg POC m –2 d –1 ) during the late phase of a peak bloom. A 1-D residence time calculation indicated that the nitrate concentration in the surface layers constantly declined. In the Atlantic-influenced, ice-free, and weakly stratified southern Barents Sea a high upward nitrate flux was found (into the surface layers ≤25 m: >5 mmol nitrate m –2 d –1 ) during a post bloom situation which was associated with a high downward POC flux (40–120 m: 260–600 mg POC m –2 d –1 ). We suggest that strong wind events during our field study induced vertical mixing processes and triggered upwards nitrate flux, while a combination of down-mixed phytoplankton and fast-sinking mesozooplankton fecal pellets enhanced the downward POC flux. The results of this study underscore the need to further investigate the role of strong, episodic wind events on the upward nitrate and downward POC fluxes in weakly stratified regions of the Arctic that may be ice-free in future.

A coupled 1-D sea ice-ocean physical-biogeochemical model was developed to investigate the processes governing ice algal and phytoplankton blooms in the seasonally ice-covered Arctic Ocean. The 1-D column is representative of one grid cell in 3-D model applications and provides a tool for parameterization development. The model was applied to Resolute Passage in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago and assessed with observations from a field campaign during spring of 2010. The factors considered to limit the growth of simulated ice algae and phytoplankton were light, nutrients, and in the case of ice algae, ice melt. In addition to the standard simulation, several model experiments were conducted to determine the sensitivity of the simulated ice algal bloom to parameterizations of light, mortality, and pre-bloom biomass. Model results indicated that: (1) ice algae limit subsequent pelagic productivity in the upper 10 m by depleting nutrients to limiting levels; (2) light availability and pre-bloom biomass determine the onset timing of the ice algal bloom; (3) the maximum biomass is relatively insensitive to the pre-bloom biomass, but is limited by nutrient availability; (4) a combination of linear and quadratic parameterizations of mortality rate is required to adequately simulate the evolution of the ice algal bloom; and (5) a sinking rate for large detritus greater than a threshold of ∼10 m d –1 effectively strips the surface waters of the limiting nutrient (silicate) after the ice algal bloom, supporting the development of a deep chlorophyll maximum.

Antarctic pack ice is inhabited by a diverse and active microbial community reliant on nutrients for growth. Seeking patterns and overlooked processes, we performed a large-scale compilation of macro-nutrient data (hereafter termed nutrients) in Antarctic pack ice (306 ice-cores collected from 19 research cruises). Dissolved inorganic nitrogen and silicic acid concentrations change with time, as expected from a seasonally productive ecosystem. In winter, salinity-normalized nitrate and silicic acid concentrations (C*) in sea ice are close to seawater concentrations (C w ), indicating little or no biological activity. In spring, nitrate and silicic acid concentrations become partially depleted with respect to seawater (C* < C w ), commensurate with the seasonal build-up of ice microalgae promoted by increased insolation. Stronger and earlier nitrate than silicic acid consumption suggests that a significant fraction of the primary productivity in sea ice is sustained by flagellates. By both consuming and producing ammonium and nitrite, the microbial community maintains these nutrients at relatively low concentrations in spring. With the decrease in insolation beginning in late summer, dissolved inorganic nitrogen and silicic acid concentrations increase, indicating imbalance between their production (increasing or unchanged) and consumption (decreasing) in sea ice. Unlike the depleted concentrations of both nitrate and silicic acid from spring to summer, phosphate accumulates in sea ice (C* > C w ). The phosphate excess could be explained by a greater allocation to phosphorus-rich biomolecules during ice algal blooms coupled with convective loss of excess dissolved nitrogen, preferential remineralization of phosphorus, and/or phosphate adsorption onto metal-organic complexes. Ammonium also appears to be efficiently adsorbed onto organic matter, with likely consequences to nitrogen mobility and availability. This dataset supports the view that the sea ice microbial community is highly efficient at processing nutrients but with a dynamic quite different from that in oceanic surface waters calling for focused future investigations.

Polynyas, or recurring areas of seasonally open water surrounded by sea ice, are foci for energy and material transfer between the atmosphere and the polar ocean. They are also climate sensitive, with both sea ice extent and glacial melt influencing their productivity. The Amundsen Sea Polynya (ASP) is the greenest polynya in the Southern Ocean, with summertime chlorophyll a concentrations exceeding 20 µg L −1 . During the Amundsen Sea Polynya International Research Expedition (ASPIRE) in austral summer 2010–11, we aimed to determine the fate of this high algal productivity. We collected water column profiles for total dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) and nutrients, particulate and dissolved organic matter, chlorophyll a , mesozooplankton, and microbial biomass to make a carbon budget for this ecosystem. We also measured primary and secondary production, community respiration rates, vertical particle flux and fecal pellet production and grazing. With observations arranged along a gradient of increasing integrated dissolved inorganic nitrogen drawdown (ΔDIN; 0.027–0.74 mol N m −2 ), changes in DIC in the upper water column (ranging from 0.2 to 4.7 mol C m −2 ) and gas exchange (0–1.7 mol C m −2 ) were combined to estimate early season net community production ( s NCP; 0.2–5.9 mol C m −2 ) and then compared to organic matter inventories to estimate export. From a phytoplankton bloom dominated by Phaeocystis antarctica , a high fraction (up to ∼60%) of s NCP was exported to sub-euphotic depths. Microbial respiration remineralized much of this export in the mid waters. Comparisons to short-term (2–3 days) drifting traps and a year-long moored sediment trap capturing the downward flux confirmed that a relatively high fraction (3–6%) of the export from ∼100 m made it through the mid waters to depth. We discuss the climate-sensitive nature of these carbon fluxes, in light of the changing sea ice cover and melting ice sheets in the region.

Temporal changes in the concentration profiles of dimethylsulfide (DMS), dimethylsulfoniopropionate (DMSP), and dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO) were measured in pack ice from the Bellingshausen Sea (Antarctica) during the winter-spring transition of 2007. Two sites with contrasting snow and ice thicknesses were sampled, with high concentrations of DMS, DMSP, and DMSO observed at both sites, especially in surface ice. These high concentrations were shown to correspond to the development of a surface ice microalgal community dominated by strong DMSP producers (flagellates and dinoflagellates) following flooding of the ice cover. Several short-term synoptic events were observed and shown to influence strongly the dynamics of sea ice DMS, DMSP, and DMSO. In particular, a cold spell event was associated with drastic changes in the environmental conditions for the sea ice microbial communities and to a remarkable increase in the production of dimethylated sulfur compounds at both sites. A good correlation between all dimethylated sulfur compounds, sea ice temperature, and brine salinity suggested that the observed increase was triggered mainly by increased thermal and osmotic stresses on microalgal cells. Atmospheric forcing, by controlling sea ice temperature and hence the connectivity and instability of the brine network, was also shown to constrain the transfer of dimethylated sulfur compounds in the ice towards the ocean via brine drainage. Analysis of the two contrasting sampling sites shed light on the key role played by the snow cover in the sea ice DMS cycle. Thicker snow cover, by insulating the underlying sea ice, reduced the amplitude of environmental changes associated with the cold spell, leading to a weaker physiological response and DMS, DMSP, and DMSO production. Thicker snow also hampered the development of steep gradients in sea ice temperature and brine salinity, thereby decreasing the potential for the release of dimethylated sulfur compounds to the ocean via brine drainage.

Bio-optics is a powerful approach for estimating photosynthesis rates, but has seldom been applied to sea ice, where measuring photosynthesis is a challenge. We measured absorption coefficients of chromophoric dissolved organic matter (CDOM), algae, and non-algal particles along with solar radiation, albedo and transmittance at four sea-ice stations in the Gulf of Finland, Baltic Sea. This unique compilation of optical and biological data for Baltic Sea ice was used to build a radiative transfer model describing the light field and the light absorption by algae in 1-cm increments. The maximum quantum yields and photoadaptation of photosynthesis were determined from 14 C-incorporation in photosynthetic-irradiance experiments using melted ice. The quantum yields were applied to the radiative transfer model estimating the rate of photosynthesis based on incident solar irradiance measured at 1-min intervals. The calculated depth-integrated mean primary production was 5 mg C m –2 d –1 for the surface layer (0–20 cm ice depth) at Station 3 (fast ice) and 0.5 mg C m –2 d –1 for the bottom layer (20–57 cm ice depth). Additional calculations were performed for typical sea ice in the area in March using all ice types and a typical light spectrum, resulting in depth-integrated mean primary production rates of 34 and 5.6 mg C m –2 d –1 in surface ice and bottom ice, respectively. These calculated rates were compared to rates determined from 14 C incorporation experiments with melted ice incubated in situ . The rate of the calculated photosynthesis and the rates measured in situ at Station 3 were lower than those calculated by the bio-optical algorithm for typical conditions in March in the Gulf of Finland by the bio-optical algorithm. Nevertheless, our study shows the applicability of bio-optics for estimating the photosynthesis of sea-ice algae.

The Amundsen Sea Polynya is characterized by large phytoplankton blooms, which makes this region disproportionately important relative to its size for the biogeochemistry of the Southern Ocean. In situ data on phytoplankton are limited, which is problematic given recent reports of sustained change in the Amundsen Sea. During two field expeditions to the Amundsen Sea during austral summer 2010–2011 and 2014, we collected physical and bio-optical data from ships and autonomous underwater gliders. Gliders documented large phytoplankton blooms associated with Antarctic Surface Waters with low salinity surface water and shallow upper mixed layers (< 50 m). High biomass was not always associated with a specific water mass, suggesting the importance of upper mixed depth and light in influencing phytoplankton biomass. Spectral optical backscatter and ship pigment data suggested that the composition of phytoplankton was spatially heterogeneous, with the large blooms dominated by Phaeocystis and non-bloom waters dominated by diatoms. Phytoplankton growth rates estimated from field data (≤ 0.10 day −1 ) were at the lower end of the range measured during ship-based incubations, reflecting both in situ nutrient and light limitations. In the bloom waters, phytoplankton biomass was high throughout the 50-m thick upper mixed layer. Those biomass levels, along with the presence of colored dissolved organic matter and detritus, resulted in a euphotic zone that was often < 10 m deep. The net result was that the majority of phytoplankton were light-limited, suggesting that mixing rates within the upper mixed layer were critical to determining the overall productivity; however, regional productivity will ultimately be controlled by water column stability and the depth of the upper mixed layer, which may be enhanced with continued ice melt in the Amundsen Sea Polynya.

Antarctic seas, and particularly the Amundsen Sea Polynya, are some of the most productive oceanic regions on Earth. Ice-algal production during austral spring is followed by open-water pelagic production later in the season. Although ice-free growth accounts for a greater percentage of the annual net primary production, ice algae provide an important source of nutrients to organisms throughout the water column and benthos in areas and seasons when open-water production is insignificant. The objectives of this study were to assess the bioavailability of dissolved organic matter (DOM), sourced from ice algae or the chlorophyll maximum (chl max), to marine bacterioplankton and to determine the fate of carbon within these different DOM pools, including loss to respiration, incorporation into bacterial biomass and retention within the DOM pool itself. Nutrient concentrations and bacterial abundance, production, and cell volume were monitored during a 7-day bioassay study involving four treatments conducted shipboard in the Amundsen Sea Polynya, Antarctica. The greatest response in bacterial abundance and activity was observed when ice-algal meltwater was supplied to aphotic zone bacterioplankton collected from 170-m depth. However, bacterial growth efficiency was higher (24%) when chl max water was supplied to the same aphotic zone bacterial community compared to the bacterial growth efficiency of the ice-algal treatment (15%). Approximately 15% of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) from the ice-algal source and 18% from the chl max was consumed by aphotic bacterial communities over the relatively short, one-week incubation. In contrast, 65% of the dissolved organic nitrogen (DON) added as an integral part of the ice-algal DOM was consumed, but none of the DON supplied with chl max water was labile. This study underscores the importance of considering DOM sources when investigating or predicting changes in carbon and nitrogen cycling within the Amundsen Sea.

To evaluate what drives phytoplankton photosynthesis rates in the Amundsen Sea Polynya (ASP), Antarctica, during the spring bloom, we studied phytoplankton biomass, photosynthesis rates, and water column productivity during a bloom of Phaeocystis antarctica (Haptophyceae) and tested effects of iron (Fe) and light availability on these parameters in bioassay experiments in deck incubators. Phytoplankton biomass and productivity were highest (20 µg chlorophyll a L −1 and 6.5 g C m −2 d −1 ) in the central ASP where sea ice melt water and surface warming enhanced stratification, reducing mixed layer depth and increasing light availability. In contrast, maximum photosynthesis rate ( P * max ), initial light-limited slope of the photosynthesis–irradiance curve (α * ), and maximum photochemical efficiency of photosystem II ( F v /F m ) were highest in the southern ASP near the potential Fe sources of the Dotson and Getz ice shelves. In the central ASP, P * max , α * , and F v /F m were all lower. Fe addition increased phytoplankton growth rates in three of twelve incubations, and at a significant level when all experiments were analyzed together, indicating Fe availability may be rate-limiting for phytoplankton growth in several regions of the ASP early in the season during build-up of the spring bloom. Moreover, Fe addition increased P * max , α * , and F v /F m in almost all experiments when compared to unamended controls. Incubation under high light also increased P * max , but decreased F v /F m and α * when compared to low light incubation. These results indicate that the lower values for P * max , α * , and F v /F m in the central ASP, compared to regions close to the ice shelves, are constrained by lower Fe availability rather than light availability. Our study suggests that higher Fe availability (e.g., from higher melt rates of ice shelves) would increase photosynthesis rates in the central ASP and potentially increase water column productivity 1.7-fold, making the ASP even more productive than it is today.

Sea ice covers approximately 5% of the ocean surface and is one of the most extensive ecosystems on the planet. The microbial communities that live in sea ice represent an important food source for numerous organisms at a time of year when phytoplankton in the water column are scarce. Here we describe the distributions and physiology of sea ice microalgae in the poorly studied Amundsen Sea sector of the Southern Ocean. Microalgal biomass was relatively high in sea ice in the Amundsen Sea, due primarily to well developed surface communities that would have been replenished with nutrients during seawater flooding of the surface as a result of heavy snow accumulation. Elevated biomass was also occasionally observed in slush, interior, and bottom ice microhabitats throughout the region. Sea ice microalgal photophysiology appeared to be controlled by the availability of both light and nutrients. Surface communities used an active xanthophyll cycle and effective pigment sunscreens to protect themselves from harmful ultraviolet and visible radiation. Acclimation to low light microhabitats in sea ice was facilitated by enhanced pigment content per cell, greater photosynthetic accessory pigments, and increased photosynthetic efficiency. Photoacclimation was especially effective in the bottom ice community, where ready access to nutrients would have allowed ice microalgae to synthesize a more efficient photosynthetic apparatus. Surprisingly, the pigment-detected prymnesiophyte Phaeocystis antarctica was an important component of surface communities (slush and surface ponds) where its acclimation to high light may precondition it to seed phytoplankton blooms after the sea ice melts in spring.