Nitrogen uptake rates in phytoplankton and ice algae in the Barents Sea

Uptake rates of NH₄⁺, NO₃⁻ and dissolved organic nitrogen (urea) were measured in phytoplankton and in ice algae in the Barents Sea using a ¹⁵N-technique. NO₃⁻ was the most important nitrogen source for the ice algae (f-ratio = 0.92). The in situ irradiances in the subsurface chlorophyll maximum and in the ice algal communities were low. The in situ NO₃⁻ uptake rate in the ice algal communities was light-limited The in situ NO₃⁻ and NH₄⁻ uptake rates in the subsurface chlorophyll maximum were at times light-limited. It is hypothesised that NH₄⁺ may accumulate in low light in the bottom of the euphotic zone and inhibit the in situ NO₃⁻ uptake rate.     

南大洋及相邻温带海域夏季小型浮游动物的摄食作用

小型浮游动物在海洋食物网中扮演着重要的角色。2012年12月—2013年3月,利用稀释培养方法开展了南大洋及温带海域小型浮游动物对浮游植物的摄食实验研究。结果表明,浮游植物的生长率为0.04—0.89 d~(–1),小型浮游动物对浮游植物的摄食率为0.07—1.29 d~(–1)。浮游动物日摄食量占浮游植物现存量的6.4%—72.5%,对浮游植物初级生产力的摄食压力也较大,为14%—776.9%。尽管本实验中浮游动物的摄食率可能被高估,但在南大洋及温带海域生态系统中,小型浮游动物对浮游植物仍具有重要的调控作用。     

Dynamics of plankton growth in the Barents Sea: model studies

1-D and 3-D models of plankton production in the Barents Sea are described and a few simulations presented. The 1-D model has two compartments for phytoplankton (diatoms and P. pouchelii) , three for limiting nutrients (nitrate, ammonia and silicic acid), and one compartment called "sinking phytoplankton". This model is coupled to a submodel of the important herbivores in the area and calculates the vertical distribution in a water column. Simulations with the 3-D model indicate a total annual primary production of 90-120g C m⁻² yr⁻¹ in Atlantic Water and 20-50g C m⁻² yr⁻¹ in Arctic Water, depending on the persistence of the ice cover during the summer.
The 3-D model takes current velocities, vertical mixing, ice cover, and temperature from a 3-D hydrodynamical model. Input data are atmospheric wind, solar radiation, and sensible as well as latent heat flux for the year 1983. The model produces a dynamic picture of the spatial distribution of phytoplankton throughout the spring and summer. Integrated primary production from March to July indicates that the most productive area is Spitsbcrgenbanken and the western entrance to the Barents Sea. i.e. on the northern slope of Tromsøflaket.     

Size fraction and class composition of phytoplankton in the Antarctic marginal ice zone along the 140°E meridian during February–March 2003

We investigated the size fraction and pigment-derived class compositions of phytoplankton within the euphotic zone of the Antarctic marginal ice zone between 63.3°S and 66.5°S along the 140°E meridian on two consecutive cruises in the late austral summer and early austral autumn of 2003. We observed significant temporal and spatial variations in phytoplankton size and taxonomic composition, although chlorophyll a concentrations were generally below 1 μg l⁻¹ during both periods. Microphytoplankton (>20 μm), mainly diatoms, were prominent in the euphotic zone in the southernmost area around 66.5°S during late summer. In the rest of the study area during both cruises, the phytoplankton community was dominated by pico- and nano-sized populations (<20 μm) throughout the euphotic zone. The small-size populations mostly consisted of diatoms and haptophytes, although chlorophytes were dominant in extremely cold water (−1.5°C) below the overlying warm water around 65.5°S during late summer. From late summer to early autumn, chlorophytes declined in abundance, probably due to increasing temperature within the euphotic zone (−1 to 0°C). These pico- and nano-phytoplankton-dominated populations were often accompanied by relatively high concentrations of ammonium, suggesting the active regeneration of nutrients within the small-size plankton community.     

Phototrophic and heterotrophic nano- and microorganisms of sea ice and sub-ice water in Guba Chupa (Chupa Inlet), White Sea, in April 2002

Autotrophic and heterotrophic flagellates, microalgae and ciliates sampled at four stations in the White Sea in April 2002 were studied using epifluorescence microscopy. The concentrations of phototrophic 1.5 μm algae in the middle and lower part of the ice core were very high: up to 6.1 ± 10⁸ cells I⁻¹ and 194 μg C I⁻¹. Heterotrophic algae made up the largest proportion of the nanoplankton (2-20 μm) and microplankton (20-200 μm) at depths 10-25 m below the ice. The proportion of ciliates ranged from about 0.01% to 18% at different stations and depths. Most of the ciliate biomass in the ice was made up of typical littoral zone species, whereas the water under the ice was dominated by phototrophic Myrionecta rubra . Ice algae, mainly flagellates in the upper ice layer and diatoms in the bottom ice layer, supported the proliferation of heterotrophs, algae and ciliates in early spring. Small heterotrophs and diatoms from the ice may provide food for early growth and development of pelagic copepods. Mass development of the ice algae in early spring appears typical for the seasonal ice of the White Sea. Ice algae differ in species composition from the spring pelagic community and develop independently in time and space from the spring phytoplankton bloom.     

Modelling of short-interval silent slip events in deeper subduction interfaces considering the frictional properties at the unstable–stable transition regime

Recent high-resolution observations of crustal movements have revealed silent slip events (SSEs) with propagation velocities of around 10–15 km d⁻¹ and with intervals of 3–14 months along the deeper parts of the Cascadia and Nankai subduction zones. This study develops 2-D and 3-D models of these short-interval SSEs considering the frictional behaviour that was confirmed experimentally by Shimamoto for the unstable–stable transition regime. To represent this frictional behaviour, a small cut-off velocity to an evolution effect is introduced in a rate- and state-dependent friction law. When the cut-off velocity to the evolution effect is significantly smaller than that to a direct effect, steady-state friction exhibits velocity weakening at low slip velocities and velocity strengthening at high slip velocities. At the deeper Cascadia and Nankai subduction interfaces, the pore pressure is inferred to be high because of the dehydration of materials in the descending plate. Under conditions where the pore-fluid pressure is nearly equal to the lithostatic pressure and the critical weakening displacement is very small, short-interval SSEs with propagation velocities and slip velocities of 4–8 km d⁻¹ and  2 − 4 × 10⁻⁷  m s⁻¹, respectively, can be reproduced. The propagation velocity of short-interval SSEs is in proportion to the slip velocity. The results also show that during the nucleation process of large earthquakes, the occurrence of short-interval SSEs becomes irregular because of the accelerated slips that occur at the bottom of the seismogenic zone. Our results suggest that monitoring of short-interval SSEs might be useful for forecasting the main earthquakes.     

Carbon dioxide and methane dynamics in a sub-Arctic peatland in northern Finland

We studied carbon dynamics on various surface parts of a highly patterned fen, typical in northern Finland, to examine the importance of different microsites to the areal carbon fluxes. The studies were carried out in June-September 1995 on a mesotrophic flark fen (an aapa mire) in Kaamanen (69°08'N, 27° 17'E). Wet flarks, moist lawns and dry strings accounted for 60%, 10% and 30% of the surface area, respectively. A static chamber technique was applied to measure the CH₄ exchange, the instantaneous net ecosystem exchange (NEE, transparent chamber) and the ecosystem respiration (R_tot' opaque chamber) in several microsites. The static chamber results were compared with those obtained by the eddy covariance technique. The mean daytime areal net ecosystem CO₂ exchange rate measurement in conditions where photosynthesis was light saturated (PAR>400 μmol m_-2 s_-1) varied during the measurement period from −59 mg CO₂-C m⁻²h⁻¹ (release) to 250 (uptake). The mean CH₄ emission during the measuring period was 78 mg CH_4-Cm⁻² d⁻¹ on the flarks, 68 mg on the lawn and 6.0 mg on the strings. The strings without shrubs (mainly Betula nana ) were in general net sources of CO₂, even during the middle of the growing season, whereas the lawns, flarks and also strings growing B. nana showed a daytime net uptake of CO₂. Areally integrated chamber results showed lower CO₂ and higher CH₄ fluxes than predicted from the eddy covariance measurements.     

2012 年夏季水团输送对挪威-格陵兰海营养盐及浮游植物群落结构的影响

依托2012 年第五次北极科学考察分析了夏季挪威-格陵兰海域营养盐和光合色素的分布情况, 探讨 水团输送对该海域营养盐分布及对该海域浮游植物群落结构分布的影响。结果显示挪威海和格陵兰海域调 查站位上层(200 m)水体中AT 断面的硝酸盐、磷酸盐及硅酸盐平均浓度分别为9.0(±5.0)、0.65(±0.29)和 1.8(±1.6) μmol·L^–1, BB 断面的硝酸盐、磷酸盐及硅酸盐平均浓度分别为8.9(±3.8)、0.71(±0.22)和1.8(± 1.6) μmol·L^–1。挪威海和格陵兰海域上层水体中硅酸盐相对于硝酸盐远远不足, 且呈显著硅限制, 该限制随 纬度的升高有所减轻, 表现为北冰洋入流水的硅酸盐输送。光合色素与温度和营养盐的关系表现为: 与温度 呈正相关, 与营养盐呈负相关。光合色素的分布结果表明, 挪威-格陵兰海域浮游植物群落表层以硅藻或硅 藻和定鞭金藻为主, 次表层(叶绿素最大层)则以硅藻为优势种, 并且硅藻更易聚集于混合层下方温跃层上 方, 定鞭金藻在表层水体低营养盐的条件下更具竞争力。此外, 由于受大西洋入流分支的影响, 浮游植物向挪 威-大西洋流流经区域聚集(温度更高且营养盐充分), 形成区域浮游植物分布差异。     

A surge of Perseibreen, Svalbard, examined using aerial photography and ASTER high resolution satellite imagery

The identification of surge activity is important in assessing the duration of the active and quiescent phases of the surge cycle of Svalbard glaciers. Satellite and aerial photographic images are used to identify and describe the form and flow of Perseibreen, a valley glacier of 59 km² on the east coast of Spitsbergen. Heavy surface crevassing and a steep ice front, indicative of surge activity, were first observed on Perseibreen in April 2002. Examination of high resolution (15 m) Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) satellite imagery confirmed this surge activity. Perseibreen retreated by almost 750 m between 1961 and 1990. Between 1990 and the summer of 2000, Perseibreen switched from retreat and its front began to advance. Rapid advance was underway during the period June 2000 to May 2001, with terminus advance at over 400 m yr⁻¹. Between May and August 2001 the rate increased to over 750 m yr⁻¹. The observed crevasse orientation indicates that ice was in longitudinal tension, suggesting the down-glacier transfer of mass. Ice surface velocities, derived from image correlation between ASTER images, were 2-2.5 m d⁻¹ between May and August 2001. The glacier was flowing at a relatively uniform speed with sharp velocity gradients located close to its lateral margins, a velocity structure typical of ice masses in the active phase of the surge cycle. The stress regime is extensional throughout and the surge appears to be initiated low on the glacier. This is similar to the active-phase dynamics of other Svalbard tidewater glaciers. Perseibreen has probably been inactive since at least 1870, a period of about 130 years to the present surge which defines a minimum length for the quiescent phase.     

Cold-season soil respiration in response to grazing and warming in High-Arctic Svalbard

The influence of goose grazing intensity and open-topped chambers (OTCs) on near-surface quantities and qualities of soil organic carbon (SOC) was evaluated in wet and mesic ecosystems in Svalbard. This study followed up a field experiment carried out in 2003–05 (part of the project Fragility of Arctic Goose Habitat: Impacts of Land Use, Conservation and Elevated Temperatures). New measurements of soil CO₂ effluxes, temperatures and water contents were regularly made from July to November 2007. SOC stocks were quantified, and the reactivity and composition measured by basal soil respiration (BSR) and solid-state ¹³C nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. Results reveal variations in soil carbon cycling, with significant seasonal trends controlled by temperature, water content and snow. Experimental warming (OTCs) increased near-surface temperatures in the growing season, resulting in significantly higher CO₂ effluxes. Different grazing intensities had no significant effects on observed soil respiration, but BSR rates at the mesic site (13–23 µg CO₂ g soil-C⁻¹ h⁻¹) were highest with moderate grazing and lowest in the absence of grazing. A limited effect of grazing on microbial respiration is consistent with a lack of significant differences in SOC quantity and quality. NMR data show that the composition of A-horizon SOC is dominated by O-N-alkyl C and alkyl C groups, and less by carboxyl C and aromatic C groups: but again no marked variation in response to grazing was evident. It can be concluded that two years after a goose grazing experiment, SOC cycling was less than the natural variation within contrasting vegetation types.     

南极普里兹湾及其邻近海域浮游植物粒度分级生物量和初级生产力

本文报道了 1 990 /1 991年夏季在南极普里兹湾及其毗连海域对浮游植物细胞丰度 ,优势种类组成 ,粒度分级生物量和初级生产力和颗粒有机碳浓度的分布及其与环境因子关系的研究。结果表明 ,调查海区具有显著的空间区域化特征 ,普里兹湾及其毗连陆架由于水体较为稳定 ,有利于浮游植物和冰藻的生长 ,其生物量、生产力和颗粒有机碳均较高 ;在普里兹湾北部毗连南印度洋的近南极大陆海域 ,由于水团沿陆坡的扭曲运动和上升流的出现 ,致使西冰架和谢克尔顿冰架之间的北部区域浮游植物生物量 ,生产力和颗粒有机碳均较高。由于浮游植物的大量繁殖 ,使该二区域营养盐浓度降低 ,溶解氧增加。在调查海区的东西两侧则相反。粒度分级结果表明 ,微型 (<2 0 μm)和微微型 (<2 .0 μm)浮游生物在浮游植物群落生物量和生产力中占有重要比重 ,它们对总生物量和总生产力的平均贡献分别为 5 3 %和 6 9%。     

Primary production of the northern Barents Sea

The majority of the arctic waters are only seasonally ice covered; the northern Barents Sea, where freezing starts at 80 to 81°N in September, is one such area. In March, the ice cover reaches its greatest extension (74-75°N). Melting is particularly rapid in June and July, and by August the Barents Sea may be ice free. The pelagic productive season is rather short, 3 to 3.5 months in the northern part of the Barents Sea (north of the Polar Front, 75°N), and is able to sustain an open water production during only half of this time when a substantial part of the area is free of ice. Ice algal production starts in March and terminates during the rapid melting season in June and July, thus equalling the pelagic production season in duration.
This paper presents the first in situ measurements of both pelagic and ice-related production in the northern Barents Sea: pelagic production in summer after melting has started and more open water has become accessible, and ice production in spring before the ice cover melts. Judged by the developmental stage of the plankton populations, the northern Barents Sea consists of several sub-areas with different phytoplankton situations. Estimates of both daily and annual carbon production have been based on in situ measurements. Although there are few sampling stations (6 phytoplankton stations and 8 ice-algae stations), the measurements represent both pelagic bloom and non-bloom conditions and ice algal day and night production. The annual production in ice was estimated to 5.3 g Cm^-2, compared to the pelagic production of 25 to 30 g Cm^-2 south of Kvitøya and 12 to 15 g Cm^-2 further north. According to these estimates ice production thus constitutes 16% to 22% of the total primary production of the northern Barents Sea, depending on the extent of ice-free areas.     

Calorific value, lipid content and radioactivity of common species from Hornsund, Southwest Spitsbergen

In the summer of 1981 the common flora and fauna of 28 species from Hornsund were collected, and the energy value, lipid content and global activity determined. It was found that the plants had low energy values, varying from 12.26 ± 0.42 kJ g⁻¹ dry weight to 15.45 ±1.00kJ'dry weight. The highest values in animals were noted in Liparis liparis (Pisces) 22.15 ± 0.89 kJg⁻¹ dry weight, and Sagitta elegans (Chae-tognatha) 20.64 ± 0.49kJg⁻¹, the lowest being in Orchomene minuta (Amphipoda) 11.30 ± 0.74kJg⁻¹d.w. The lipid contents in the species studied were mostly low, the mean range from lowest to highest being 1.37-8.60% for plants and 7.14–31.93% for animals, and they were proportional to the energy value. Both the energy values and lipid contents were comparable to those in similar species from other waters. The global fi activity in the organisms analysed was not high; at the same time plants had a higher content of radioactive isotopes, 1.97-61.9pCi g⁻¹ d.w., than animals, 5.2-17.8pCi g⁻¹ d.w.     

北冰洋中心区表层海水营养盐水平及浮游植物群落对快速融冰的响应

本文依托2010夏季中国第四次北极科学考察,通过对高纬度极地冰下水和冰芯的营养盐的连续观测及表层水颗粒物的藻类色素分析,获取了夏季快速融冰下冰水界面营养盐和光合色素的分布信息。结果表明调查期间表层水磷酸盐和硅酸盐相对于无机氮更丰富（依据Redfield比值）,表现为显著的氮限制。而冰芯无机氮浓度相对更高,融冰释放对水体无机氮有一定的补充。色素分析显示岩藻黄素（Fuco）和叶绿素a（Chl a）是水体颗粒物的主要光合色素。在8/15至8/18期间,叶绿素c（Chl c）、硅藻黄素（Diato）、硅甲藻黄素（Diadino）和岩藻黄素（Fuco）分别达到6,22,73和922μg/m3,体现了硅藻在群落中的优势地位。岩藻黄素（Fuco）的浓度在融冰快速期间有巨大的提升,主要来源于冰芯底部释放的衰老的冰生硅藻和浮游硅藻的生长。此外,青绿黄素（Prasino）和叶黄素（Lut）与岩藻黄素（Fuco）分布模式有明显的差异,暗示青绿藻和绿藻与硅藻对海冰融化的不同响应。     

The role of the microbial loop in Antarctic pelagic ecosystems

The Paradigm pelagic food web organization in Antarctic waters is undergoing fundamental revision evidence that large fractions of material and energy flow through the microbial food web. because of the unique Antarctic ecosystem conditions, the microbial food web performs some roles that are fundamentally different from those in oligotrophic temperate and tropical waters: 1) during winter, bacterial production, at the expense of slow-turnover DOM (dissolved organic matter) from the previous summer, could be a significant factor in the survival of over wintering animal populations; 2) microbial regeneration of ammonium in nitrate-replete Antarctic waters may spare the reductants necessary for nitrate assimilation and thus enhance primary productivity of deep-mixed light-limited phytoplankton; and 3) the small diatoms and phytoflagellates which dominate the Antarctic pelagic primary production are apparently directly digestible by the metazoan herbivores, whereas cyanobacteria which dominate the primary productivity in lower latitude oligotrophic waters are not digestible by the metazoan herbivores. These roles performed by the microbial loop may, in part, explain why Antarctic waters, in contrast to the lower latitude oligotrophic waters, have high levels of tertiary productivity despite low primary productivity.     

Lipid composition of phytoplankton from the Barents Sea and environmental influences on the distribution pattern of carbon among photosynthetic end products

The colonial algae Phaeocystis pouchetii and Dinobryon pellucidum dominated the phytoplankton crop at three stations in the Polar Front area of the Barents Sea.
Lipid extracted from the seawater containing the phytoplankton was dominated by neutral lipid classes, particularly triacylglycerols, and phospholipids were more abundant than galactolipids at all stations. Polyunsaturated fatty acids comprised between 15 and 26% of fatty acids of total lipid.
Of the carbon assimilated into lipid over 24 hours, 40% was located in the neutral lipid fraction. Phospholipids contained a smaller proportion of fixed carbon than galactolipids.
No defiinte relationships were observed between the distribution of fixed carbon in photosynthetic end products and the temperature or irradiance at which the phytoplankton was incubated. At a constant irradiance of 8.5 μmol m⁻²s⁻¹, the highest proportion of fixed carbon was recovered in protein at 4.5°C, but at −1.5°C most radioactivity was present in low molecular weight compounds. Regardless of incubation conditions, lipid always contained less than 30% of total assimilated carbon.     

Carbon fluxes in the Arctic Ocean—potential impact by climate change

Because of its ice cover the central Arctic Ocean has not been considered as a sink of atmospheric carbon dioxide. With recent observations of decreasing ice cover there is the potential for an increased air–sea carbon dioxide flux. Though the sensitivity of the carbon fluxes to a climate change can at present only be speculated, we know the responses to some of the forcing, including: melting of the sea ice cover make the air–sea flux operate towards equilibrium; increased temperature of the surface water will decrease the solubility and thus the air-sea flux; and an open ocean might increase primary production through better utilization of the nutrients.
The potential change in air-sea CO₂ fluxes caused by different forcing as a result of climate change is quantified based on measured data. If the sea ice melts, the top 100 m water column of the Eurasian Basin has, with the present conditions, a potential to take up close to 50 g C m⁻². The freshening of the surface water caused by a sea ice melt will increase the CO₂ solubility corresponding to an uptake of ∼ g C m⁻², while a temperature increase of 1°C in the same waters will out-gas 8 g C m⁻², and a utilization of all phosphate will increase primary production by 75 g C m⁻².     

Oxygen consumption in Macrotrachela musculosa and Trichotria truncata (Rotatoria) from the High Arctic

Oxygen consumption by rotifers Macrotrachela musculosa and Trichotria truncata from Spitsbergen tundra (77°N) was measured using the method of Cartesian divers. The metabolic rate of M. musculosa was: 0.205 10⁻³mm³ 0₂ per g 10⁻⁶ per hour at 2°C, 0.201 10⁻⁶mm³ at 6°C and 0.616 10⁻³mm³ 0₂ per g 10⁻⁶ per hour at 10°C. The metabolic rate of Trichotria truncata at 6° was 0.103 10⁻³mm³ per g 10⁻⁶ per hour. The relation between body weight and oxygen consumption by M. musculosa at 2°C is expressed with the equation R = 0.18W^0.67, with R – oxygen consumption in mm³10⁻³ per individual per hour and W – wet weight of an animal in g 10⁻⁶.     

Chemical denudation rates in Kärkevagge, Swedish Lapland

This study examines the spatial and temporal variability of chemical denudation rates in Kärkevagge, northern Sweden. The chemical flux rates within the valley are strongly influenced by the local geology. Chemical denudation rates determined for the study period are more than double those previously reported in the literature for this valley. Rates of greater than 46t km⁻² a⁻¹ were measured at the valley mouth over the course of the melt season. This difference is likely due to differences in measurement technique compared to that used by past researchers. This rate is also much higher than for other arctic and alpine watersheds. Chemical denudation in Kärkevagge is comparable to larger temperate rivers. The rapid chemical denudation in Kärkevagge is likely due to sulfide weathering creating acid solutions.     

Rates Of Postglacial rock weathering on glacially scoured outcrops (Abisko–Riksgränsen area, 68°N)

Ice–polished quartz veins, feldspar phenocrysts and quartzite layers were used as reference surfaces to assess the impact of Postglacial rock weathering in Lapland (68°N). Over 3200 measurements were carried out on roches moutonées and glaciofluvially scoured outcrops distributed within three study areas covering 8 km². Inferred weathering rates demonstrate that 10,000 years of Holocene weathering did not significantly modify the geometry of Weichselian rock surfaces. However, rates of general surface lowering range from 1 to 25, depending on the rock type, with average values at 0.2 mm ka⁻¹ for homogeneous crystalline rocks (irrespective of their acidity and grain size), 1 mm ka⁻¹ for biotite–rich crystalline rocks, and 5 mm ka⁻¹ for carbonate sedimentary rocks. Accelerated rates were recorded in weathering pits and along joints with values up to ten times higher than on the rest of the rock surface. Comparisons with cold and temperate areas suggest that solution rates of carbonate rocks are highly dependent on climate conditions, whilst granular disintegration of crystalline rocks operates at the same rate whatever the environment. It probably means that microgelivation is not efficient on ice–polished crystalline outcrops even under harsh climate conditions, and that granular disintegration proceeds under various climates from the same ubiquitous combination of biochemical processes. Last, the weathering state of Late–Weichselian roches moutonées can be usefully compared to that of Preglacial tors of the nearby Kiruna area.