Search

Late winter-to-summer changes (April to July) in ocean acidification state, calcium carbonate (CaCO3) saturation for aragonite (Ωa) and calcite (Ωc) and biogeochemical properties were investigated in 2013 and 2014 in Kongsfjorden, Svalbard. We investigated physical (salinity, temperature) and chemical (carbonate system, nutrient) properties in the water column from the glacier front in the fjord to the west Spitsbergen shelf. The average range of Ωa in the upper 50 m in the fjord in winter was 1.59–1.74 and in summer 1.65–2.66. The lowest Ωa (1.5) was close to the reported critical threshold for aragonite-forming organisms such as the pteropod Limacina helicina. In summer 2013, Ωa, pHT and salinity were generally lower than in 2014 as a result of a larger influence of high-CO2 water from the coastal current and less Atlantic water. The inner fjord was influenced by glacial water in summer which decreased Ωa by 0.7. Biological CO2 consumption based on a winter-to summer decrease in nitrate was larger in 2014 than in 2013, suggesting more primary production in 2014. The influence of freshwater decreased Ωa by the same amount as the biological effect increased Ωa. The seasonal increase in temperature only played a minor role on the increase of Ωa. The biological effect showed more inter-annual variability than the effect of freshwater. Based on this study, we suggest that changes in the inflow of different water masses and freshwater directly influence ocean acidification state, but also indirectly affect the biological drivers of carbonate chemistry in the fjord.

The marine ecosystem in Kongsfjorden (79 N), a glacial fjord in Svalbard, is to a large extent well known with regard to hydrography, mesozooplankton and higher trophic levels. Research on primary production and lower trophic levels is still scare and especially investigations from winter and spring periods. The spring bloom dynamics in Kongsfjordenwere investigated in 2002. The development in nutrient conditions, phytoplankton, protozoans and primary production were followed from 15 April until 22 May. The winter/ spring in 2002was categorized as a cold yearwith sea ice cover and water masses dominated by local winter-cooled water. The spring bloom started around 18 April and lasted until the middle ofMay. The bloom probably peaked in late April, but break-up of sea ice made it impossible to sample frequently in this period. Diatoms dominated the phytoplankton assemblage. We estimated the total primary production during the spring bloom in 2002 to range 27–35 g C m-2. There was a mismatch situation between the mesozooplankton and the phytoplankton spring bloom in 2002.

An infiltration community was the dominating ice algal community in pack-ice off Queen Maud Land, Southern Ocean, in January 1993. The community was dominated by autotrophic processes, and the most common species were the prymnesiophyte Phaeocystis antarctica and the diatoms Chaetoceros neglectus and Fragilariopsis cylindrus. The concentration of chlorophyll a was 1.3–47.9 μg l−1, and the inner part of the community was nitrate depleted. Uptake rates of nitrate, nitrite, ammonium, urea and amino acids were measured using 15N. Nitrate was the major nitrogen source for ice algal growth (67 ± 6% nitrate uptake). It is suggested that % nitrate uptake in the infiltration community decreases during the growth season, from 92% during spring (literature data) to 67% during summer. Scalar irradiance in the infiltration community was high and variable. It reached ca. 2000 μmol m−2 s−1 at some locations, and nitrate uptake rate was potentially photoinhibited at irradiances >500 μmol m−2 s−1. Nitrate uptake rate in an average infiltration community (0.6 m of snow cover) was lowered by 13% over a 2-week period due to photoinhibition.