INVESTIGADORES
SCHLOSS Irene Ruth
artículos
Título:
Phytoplankton production after the collapse of the Larsen A Ice Shelf, Antarctica.
Autor/es:
BERTOLIN, MARÍA LILA; SCHLOSS, IRENE
Revista:
POLAR BIOLOGY
Editorial:
SPRINGER
Referencias:
Lugar: Berlin; Año: 2009 vol. 32 p. 1445 - 1456
ISSN:
0722-4060
Resumen:
Part of the Larsen A Ice Shelf (64°15S to
74°15S) collapsed during January 1995. A Wrst 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 mol L¡1
and NO3
¡ 27.64 mol L¡1) was found between 70 and
200 m depth. Chlorophyll-a (Chl-a) values (max
14.24 g 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 signiWcantly correlated with
total diatom abundance and Chl-a. Calculated pCO2
(diVerence of the CO2 partial pressure between surface seawater
and the atmosphere) was ?30.5 atm, which could
have contributed to a net CO2 Xux 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.
