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Phytoplankton production after the collapse of the Larsen A Ice Shelf, Antarctica

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Abstract

Part of the Larsen A Ice Shelf (64°15′S to 74°15′S) 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 (max: PO4 3− 1.80 μmol L−1 and NO3 − 27.64 μmol L−1) was found between 70 and 200 m depth. Chlorophyll-a (Chl-a) values (max 14.24 μg L−1) 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 ΔpCO2 (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.

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Acknowledgments

We would like to thank Lic. Gabriela Tosonotto for her generosity in sharing data from this cruise with us, as well as the team of the Departamento de Ciencias del Mar from the Instituto Antártico Argentino and the crew from “Almirante Irizar” during the 1996 cruise. Our thanks also to Silvia Rodriguez for the phytoplankton counts and her constant help, to Drs H. Pizarro, R. Casaux, N. Coria, G. Ferreyra for their critical readings of the thesis and the manuscript, to M. Pratto for helping us with the graphic’s design and to X. Wang for advice with data. Finally, we especially thank Drs. M. Hoppema and L. Miller, as well as an anonymous reviewer, whose valuable suggestions greatly improved the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Instituto Antártico Argentino, Cerrito 1248 (C1010 AAZ), Buenos Aires, Argentina

    M. Lila Bertolin & Irene R. Schloss

  2. CONICET, Av. Rivadavia 1917 (C1033AAV), Buenos Aires, Argentina

    M. Lila Bertolin & Irene R. Schloss

  3. ISMER, 310, Allée des Ursulines, Rimouski, QC, G5L 3A1, Canada

    Irene R. Schloss

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  1. M. Lila Bertolin
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Bertolin, M.L., Schloss, I.R. Phytoplankton production after the collapse of the Larsen A Ice Shelf, Antarctica. Polar Biol 32, 1435–1446 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-009-0638-x

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