Phytoplankton production and growth regulation in the Subarctic North Atlantic: A comparative study of the Labrador Sea-Labrador/Newfoundland shelves and Barents/Norwegian/Greenland seas and shelves

Harrison, W. G.; Børsheim, Knut Yngve; Li, William K. W.; Maillet, Gary; Pepin, Pierre; Sakshaug, Egil; Skogen, Morten D.; Yeats, P. A.

doi:10.1016/j.pocean.2013.05.003

Cited by 61 publications

(59 citation statements)

References 48 publications

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“…Light is more limiting during fall than in summer, so the stratifying effect of the Greenland meltwater discharge can make a greater difference to photosynthesis at this time of year (Figure a), though production may still be comparatively low in fall (Juul‐Pedersen et al, ). Our study finds that that meltwater could have its largest impact on productivity in the fall (Figure f), supporting the possibility of fall blooms in the region (Cota, ; Harrison et al, ) as phytoplankton become more light‐limited with the rapidly decreasing day length and increased winds tend to deepen the mixed layer.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 81%

Exploring the Potential Impact of Greenland Meltwater on Stratification, Photosynthetically Active Radiation, and Primary Production in the Labrador Sea

et al. 2018

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In July 2012, the surface of the Greenland Ice Sheet (GrIS) melted to an extent unprecedented over the last 100 years; we questioned the potential for such an extreme melt event to impact marine phytoplankton offshore. We hypothesized that stratification from meltwater could reduce light limitation for phytoplankton, and used a suite of numerical models to quantify the impact for 2003–2012. Because much of the 2012 meltwater discharged from southern Greenland, our study focused on the southwestern and southeastern coasts of Greenland, and the Labrador Sea. A 1‐D phytoplankton model used output from a Regional Ocean Modeling System (ROMS) coupled with a Regional Climate Model and a hydrological model of meltwater from runoff sources on the ice sheet, peripheral glaciers, and tundra. ROMS was run with and without meltwater to test the sensitivity of phytoplankton photosynthetic rates to the meltwater input. With meltwater, the pycnocline was shallower during late summer and early fall and thus light limitation on photosynthesis was reduced. Averaged over all years, added meltwater had the potential to increase gross primary production by 3–12% in the summer (July–August), and 13–60% in the fall (September–October). This meltwater effect was amplified when light was more limiting, and thus was greatest in the fall, under cloudier conditions, with higher self‐shading, and with more light‐sensitive phytoplankton groups. As the GrIS melt is projected to increase, late summer primary production in this region has the potential to increase as well, which could constitute an important biosphere response to high‐latitude climate change.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 81%

Exploring the Potential Impact of Greenland Meltwater on Stratification, Photosynthetically Active Radiation, and Primary Production in the Labrador Sea

et al. 2018

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“…This transport of sea ice varies but ice area export increased by 25% since the 1960s due to stronger geostrophic winds, with particularly high values during 2005Á2008 (Smedsrud et al 2011). Whereas time series studies showed that in some regions phytoplankton blooms occur earlier because of the Arctic-wide seasonal sea-ice decrease (e.g., , at Fram Strait, only a minor change or even delay in phytoplankton bloom timing was recorded (Kahru et al 2011;Harrison et al 2013).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Summertime plankton ecology in Fram Strait—a compilation of long- and short-term observations

et al. 2015

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“…In fact, what was observed in the Fram Strait during the warm period is seen throughout the Arctic Ocean and Arctic Seas: an increase of 20% in phytoplankton productivity due to more ice-free days during the growth season (e.g., Arrigo and van Dijken, 2011), a decrease in phytoplankton cell size associated with freshening and nitrate depletion in the mixed layer (Li et al, 2009), and changes in bloom phenology, both by an early sea ice retreat and late summer blooms (Kahru et al, 2011;Harrison et al, 2013;Ji et al, 2013;Ardyna et al, 2014).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 90%

Models of Plankton Community Changes during a Warm Water Anomaly in Arctic Waters Show Altered Trophic Pathways with Minimal Changes in Carbon Export

et al. 2017

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Carbon flow through pelagic food webs is an expression of the composition, biomass and activity of phytoplankton as primary producers. In the near future, severe environmental changes in the Arctic Ocean are expected to lead to modifications of phytoplankton communities. Here, we used a combination of linear inverse modeling and ecological network analysis to study changes in food webs before, during, and after an anomalous warm water event in the eastern Fram Strait of the West Spitsbergen Current (WSC) that resulted in a shift from diatoms to flagellates during the summer (June-July). The model predicts substantial differences in the pathways of carbon flow in diatom-vs. Phaeocystis/nanoflagellate-dominated phytoplankton communities, but relatively small differences in carbon export. The model suggests a change in the zooplankton community and activity through increasing microzooplankton abundance and the switching of meso-and macrozooplankton feeding from strict herbivory to omnivory, detritivory and coprophagy. When small cells and flagellates dominated, the phytoplankton carbon pathway through the food web was longer and the microbial loop more active. Furthermore, one step was added in the flow from phytoplankton to mesozooplankton, and phytoplankton carbon to higher trophic levels is available via detritus or microzooplankton. Model results highlight how specific changes in phytoplankton community composition, as expected in a climate change scenario, do not necessarily lead to a reduction in carbon export.

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Phytoplankton production and growth regulation in the Subarctic North Atlantic: A comparative study of the Labrador Sea-Labrador/Newfoundland shelves and Barents/Norwegian/Greenland seas and shelves

Cited by 61 publications

References 48 publications

Exploring the Potential Impact of Greenland Meltwater on Stratification, Photosynthetically Active Radiation, and Primary Production in the Labrador Sea

Exploring the Potential Impact of Greenland Meltwater on Stratification, Photosynthetically Active Radiation, and Primary Production in the Labrador Sea

Summertime plankton ecology in Fram Strait—a compilation of long- and short-term observations

Models of Plankton Community Changes during a Warm Water Anomaly in Arctic Waters Show Altered Trophic Pathways with Minimal Changes in Carbon Export

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