Dissolved oxygen dynamics during a phytoplankton bloom in the Ross Sea polynya

Queste, Bastien Y., Heywood, Karen J. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9859-0026, Smith, Walker O., Kaufman, Daniel E., Jickells, Timothy D. and Dinniman, Michael S. (2015) Dissolved oxygen dynamics during a phytoplankton bloom in the Ross Sea polynya. Antarctic Science, 27 (4). pp. 362-372. ISSN 0954-1020

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Abstract

The Ross Sea polynya is one of the most productive regions in the Southern Ocean. However, limited access and high spatio-temporal variability of physical and biological processes limit the use of conventional oceanographic methods to measure early season primary productivity. High-resolution observations from two Seagliders provide insights into the timing of a bloom in the southern Ross Sea polynya in December 2010. Changes in chlorophyll and oxygen concentrations are used to assess bloom dynamics. Using a ratio of dissolved oxygen to carbon, net primary production is estimated over the duration of the bloom showing a sensitive balance between net autotrophy and heterotrophy. The two gliders, observing spatially distinct regions during the same period, found net community production rates of -0.9±0.7 and 0.7±0.4 g C m-2 d-1. The difference highlights the spatial variability of biological processes and is probably caused by observing different stages of the bloom. The challenge of obtaining accurate primary productivity estimates highlights the need for increased observational efforts, particularly focusing on subsurface processes not resolved using surface or remote observations. Without an increased observational effort and the involvement of emerging technologies, it will not be possible to determine the seasonal trophic balance of the Ross Sea polynya and quantify the shelf's importance in carbon export.

Item Type: Article
Additional Information: © Antarctic Science Ltd 2015 This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Uncontrolled Keywords: carbon,chlorophyll,productivity,seaglider,stratification,trophic state,ecology, evolution, behavior and systematics,oceanography,geology ,/dk/atira/pure/subjectarea/asjc/1100/1105
Faculty \ School: Faculty of Science > School of Environmental Sciences

University of East Anglia Research Groups/Centres > Theme - ClimateUEA
UEA Research Groups: Faculty of Science > Research Groups > Climate, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences (former - to 2017)
Faculty of Science > Research Groups > Marine and Atmospheric Sciences (former - to 2017)
Faculty of Science > Research Groups > Meteorology, Oceanography and Climate Dynamics (former - to 2017)
Faculty of Science > Research Groups > Centre for Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences
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Depositing User: Pure Connector
Date Deposited: 10 Mar 2015 15:28
Last Modified: 20 Mar 2023 11:31
URI: https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/52599
DOI: 10.1017/S0954102014000881

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