Primary productivity measurements in the Ross Sea, Antarctica: A regional synthesis

Polar systems are undersampled due to the difficulty of sampling remote and challenging environments; however, these systems are critical components of global biogeochemical cycles. Measurements on primary productivity in specific areas can quantify the input of organic matter to food webs, and so are of critical ecological importance as well. However, long-term measurements using the same methodology are available only for a few polar systems. Primary productivity measurements using 14C-uptake incubations from the Ross Sea, Antarctica, are synthesized, along with chlorophyll concentrations at the same depths and locations. A total of 19 independent cruises were completed, and 449 stations occupied where measurements of primary productivity (each with 7 depths) were completed. The incubations used the same basic simulated in situ methodology for all. Integrated water column productivity for all stations averaged 1.10 ± 1.20 g C m−2 d−1, and the maximum was 13.1 g C m−2 d−1. Annual productivity calculated from the means throughout the growing season equalled 146 g C m−2 yr−1. Mean chlorophyll concentration in the euphotic zone (the 1 % irradiance level) was 2.85 ± 2.68 mg m−3 (maximum concentration was 19.1 mg m−3). Maximum photosynthetic rates at the surface (normalized to chlorophyll) averaged 0.94 ± 0.71 mg C (mg chl)−1 h−1, similar to the maximum rate found in photosynthesis/irradiance measurements. Productivity measurements are consistent with the temporal patterns of biomass found previously, with biomass and productivity peaking in late December; mixed layers were at a minimum at this time as well. Estimates of plankton composition also suggest that pre-January productivity was largely driven by the haptophyte Phaeocystis antarctica, and summer productivity by diatoms. The data set will be useful for a comparison to other Antarctic regions and provide a basis for refined bio-optical models of regional primary productivity.

The microalga Phaeocystis antarctica is tolerant to salinity and metal mixture toxicity interactions

Salinity in the Antarctic nearshore marine environment is seasonally dynamic and climate change is driving greater variability through altered sea ice seasons, ocean evaporation rates, and increased terrestrial ice melt....

On the Relationship between a Novel Prorocentrum sp. and Colonial Phaeocystis antarctica under Iron and Vitamin B12 Limitation: Ecological Implications for Antarctic Waters

We collected live mixed natural samples from the northeastern Ross Sea during the austral summer of 2017 and isolated a novel Prorocentrum sp. (Dinophyceae) associated with mucilaginous Phaeocystis antarctica (Coccolithophyceae) colonies. The haptophyte P. antarctica is a key species of the phytoplankton community in the Ross Sea, where blooms are subjected to iron limitation and/or co-limitation with other micronutrients (e.g., vitamin B12) during the summer. We first performed preliminary genetic analyses to determine the specific identity of the novel Prorocentrum sp., which indicated that it represented a previously undescribed species. The formal description of this new species is in process. To further assess its relationship with P. antarctica, we obtained their monospecific and mixed cultures and evaluated their responses to different irradiance levels and iron and vitamin B12 limitation. Our results indicated differential susceptibility of the two species to iron limitation and differential photosynthetic plasticity under high irradiance. Iron limitation reduced colony formation in P. antarctica and decreased the chlorophyll-a content in Prorocentrum sp., whereas B12 limitation did not affect growth or photosynthetic efficiency in either species. In addition, P. antarctica could photosynthesize efficiently under different irradiance levels, due to its ability to modulate the light adsorption cross-section of PSII, whereas Prorocentrum sp. exhibited lower photosynthetic plasticity and an inability to modulate both the maximum photochemical efficiency and effective adsorption cross-section of PSII under high irradiance. The trophic interaction between Prorocentrum sp. and P. antarctica could present ecological implications for the food webs and biogeochemical cycles of the Antarctic ecosystem. Considering the predicted climate-driven shifts in global ocean surface light regimes and changes in iron or vitamin B12 transfer, which are most likely to impact changes in the phytoplankton community structure, our results present implications for carbon export to deeper waters, ecological functioning, and associated biogeochemical changes in the future.

Characteristics of methanesulfonic acid, non-sea-salt sulfate and organic carbon aerosols over the Amundsen Sea, Antarctica

To investigate the characteristics of particulate methanesulfonic acid (MSA(p)), non-sea-salt sulfate (nss SO42-) and organic carbon (OC) aerosols, aerosol and seawater samples were collected over the Southern Ocean (43–70∘ S) and the Amundsen Sea (70–75∘ S) during the ANA06B cruise conducted in the austral summer of 2016 aboard the Korean icebreaker IBR/V Araon. Over the Southern Ocean, the atmospheric MSA(p) concentration was low (0.10±0.002 µg m−3), whereas its concentration increased sharply up to 0.57 µg m−3 in the Amundsen Sea where Phaeocystis antarctica (P. antarctica), a producer of dimethylsulfide (DMS), was the dominant phytoplankton species. Unlike MSA(p), the mean nss SO42- concentration in the Amundsen Sea was comparable to that in the Southern Ocean. Water-soluble organic carbon (WSOC) concentrations over the Southern Ocean and the Amundsen Sea varied from 0.048 to 0.16 and 0.070 to 0.18 µgC m−3, with averages of 0.087±0.038 and 0.097±0.038 µgC m−3, respectively. For water-insoluble organic carbon (WIOC), its mean concentrations over the Southern Ocean and the Amundsen Sea were 0.25±0.13 and 0.26±0.10 µgC m−3, varying from 0.083 to 0.49 and 0.12 to 0.38 µgC m−3, respectively. WIOC was the dominant organic carbon species in both the Southern Ocean and the Amundsen Sea, accounting for 73 %–75 % of the total aerosol organic carbon. WSOC/Na+ and WIOC/Na+ ratios in the fine-mode aerosol particles were higher, especially in the Amundsen Sea where biological productivity was much higher than the Southern Ocean. The fluorescence properties of water-soluble organic aerosols investigated using a fluorescence excitation–emission matrix coupled with parallel factor analysis (EEM–PARAFAC) revealed that protein-like components were dominant in our marine aerosol samples, representing 69 %–91 % of the total intensity. Protein-like components also showed a significant positive relationship with the relative biomass of diatoms; however, they were negatively correlated with the relative biomass of P. antarctica. These results suggest that the protein-like component is most likely produced as a result of biological processes of diatoms in the Amundsen Sea.

Dimethylsulfoniopropionate (DMSP) and dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO) cell quotas variations arising from sea ice shifts of salinity and temperature in the Prymnesiophyceae Phaeocystis antarctica

Environmental contextDimethylsulfoniopropionate and dimethylsulfoxide could have a climatic influence especially in the polar areas. We investigate the effect of sea ice salinity and temperature on the production of these two sulfur metabolites by a polar microalga, and suggest their potential roles of osmoregulator and cryoprotectant. These results bring new information about the sulfur cycle in sea ice that is useful for climate models. AbstractThe Southern Ocean, which includes the seasonal ice zone (SIZ), is a source of large sea-air fluxes of dimethylsulfide (DMS), a climate active gas involved in Earth cooling processes. In this area, the prymnesiophyte Phaeocystis antarctica (P. antarctica) is one of the main producers of dimethylsulfoniopropionate (DMSP) and dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO), two metabolites that are precursors of DMS. These algae are also present in sea ice and contribute substantially to the high DMSP and DMSO concentrations observed in this habitat. DMSP and DMSO production in sea ice by P. antarctica is proposed to be promoted by its ability to live in extreme environmental conditions. We designed cell culture experiments to test that hypothesis, focusing on the impact of shifts of temperature and salinity on the DMSP and DMSO cell quotas. Our experiments show an increase in DMSP and DMSO cell quotas following shifts in salinity (34 to 75, at 4°C), which suggests a potential osmoregulator function for both DMSP and DMSO. Stronger salinity shifts (up to 100) directly impact cell growth and induce a crash of the cultures. Combining the salinity (34 to 75) and temperature (4°C to –2.3°C) shifts induces higher increases of DMSP and DMSO cell quotas that also suggests an implication of both metabolites in a cryoprotectant system. Experimental cell quotas (including diatom Fragilariopsis cylindrus quotas from a previous study) are then used to reconstruct DMSP and DMSO profiles in sea ice based on the biomass and taxonomy. Finally, the complexity of the transposition of rates obtained in the experimental domain to the real world is discussed.