Near-ubiquity of ice-edge blooms in the Arctic

Perrette, M.; Yool, A. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9879-2776; Quartly, G.D.; Popova, E.E. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2012-708X. 2011 Near-ubiquity of ice-edge blooms in the Arctic. Biogeosciences, 8 (2). 515-524. 10.5194/bg-8-515-2011

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Abstract/Summary

Ice-edge blooms are significant features of Arctic primary production, yet have received relatively little attention. Here we combine satellite ocean colour and sea-ice data in a pan-Arctic study. Ice-edge blooms occur in all seasonally ice-covered areas and from spring to late summer, being observed in 77–89% of locations for which adequate data exist, and usually peaking within 20 days of ice retreat. They sometimes form long belts along the ice-edge (greater than 100 km), although smaller structures were also found. The bloom peak is on average more than 1 mg m−3, with major blooms more than 10 mg m−3, and is usually located close to the ice-edge, though not always. Some propagate behind the receding ice-edge over hundreds of kilometres and over several months, while others remain stationary. The strong connection between ice retreat and productivity suggests that the ongoing changes in Arctic sea-ice may have a significant impact on higher trophic levels and local fish stocks.

Item Type:	Publication - Article
Digital Object Identifier (DOI):	10.5194/bg-8-515-2011
ISSN:	17264189
Date made live:	09 Jan 2012 16:56 +0 (UTC)
URI:	https://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/307397

Item Type:

Publication - Article

Digital Object Identifier (DOI):

10.5194/bg-8-515-2011

ISSN:

17264189

Date made live:

09 Jan 2012 16:56 +0 (UTC)

URI:

https://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/307397