Detrital input sustains diatom production off a glaciated Arctic coast

Ng, Hong Chin; Hendry, Katharine R. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0790-5895; Ward, Rachael; Woodward, E.M.S.; Leng, Melanie J. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1115-5166; Pickering, Rebecca A.; Krause, Jeffrey W.. 2024 Detrital input sustains diatom production off a glaciated Arctic coast. Geophysical Research Letters, 51 (12), e2024GL108324. 11, pp. https://doi.org/10.1029/2024GL108324

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Official URL: https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.102...

Abstract/Summary

In the Arctic and subarctic oceans, the relatively low supply of silicon (compared to other nutrients) can make it limiting for the growth of diatoms, a fundamental building block of the oceanic food web. Glaciers release large quantities of dissolved silicon and dissolvable solid amorphous silica phases into high-latitude estuaries (fjords), but the role of these glacially-derived silica phases in sustaining diatom growth in the coastal and open-water sectors remains unknown. Here we show how stable and radiogenic silicon isotopes can be used together to address this question, using southwest Greenland as a case study. This study finds enhanced levels of detrital (i.e., mineral) amorphous silica, likely glacially-sourced, sustaining a large portion of diatom growth observed off the coast, revealing how the phytoplankton community can function during high-meltwater periods.

Item Type:	Publication - Article
Digital Object Identifier (DOI):	https://doi.org/10.1029/2024GL108324
ISSN:	0094-8276
Additional Keywords:	Arctic coast, nutrient cycling, glacial weathering products, isotope application, Polar marine ecosystems
Date made live:	13 Jun 2024 11:07 +0 (UTC)
URI:	https://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/534355

Item Type:

Publication - Article

Digital Object Identifier (DOI):

https://doi.org/10.1029/2024GL108324

ISSN:

0094-8276

Additional Keywords:

Arctic coast, nutrient cycling, glacial weathering products, isotope application, Polar marine ecosystems

Date made live:

13 Jun 2024 11:07 +0 (UTC)

URI:

https://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/534355