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Islands of Ice: Influence of Free-Drifting Antarctic Icebergs on Pelagic Marine Ecosystems

Islands of Ice: Influence of Free-Drifting Antarctic Icebergs on Pelagic Marine Ecosystems
Islands of Ice: Influence of Free-Drifting Antarctic Icebergs on Pelagic Marine Ecosystems
Regional warming around West Antarctica, including the Antarctic Peninsula, is related to the retreat of glaciers that has resulted in significant ice mass loss in recent decades (De Angelis and Skvarca, 2003). Large icebergs (> 18.5 km long) originating from ice shelves in the Ross and Weddell Seas (Scambos et al., 2000) are attributed primarily to major loss events in these regions. Once free, icebergs become entrained in the counterclockwise Antarctic Coastal Current (Figure 1), eventually entering a strong northward flow in the Northwest Weddell Sea. We examined free-drifting icebergs in the Atlantic sector of the Southern Ocean in December 2005, aboard ARSV Laurence M. Gould, and in June 2008 and March/April 2009, aboard RVIB Nathaniel B. Palmer. Prior to these studies, little information was available about the effects of icebergs on the pelagic realm. On these cruises, we investigated the "iceberg ecosystem" (Smith et al., 2007; Smith, 2011) to assess the degree to which icebergs are (1) hotspots of biological activity across multiple trophic levels, and (2) focal points for enhanced export of organic carbon to the deep sea. An important focus of this work was to examine the fundamental mechanisms by which icebergs affect the pelagic ecosystem, including physical disruption and effects on the availability of critical nutrients (e.g., iron, nitrate).
1042-8275
38-39
Vernet, Maria
d76ca6cd-114c-41ec-bf9d-60b03a8b501c
Smith, Kenneth
4bc77c16-88fb-450c-8c11-a1485339c08d
Cefarelli, Adrián
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Helly, John
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Kaufmann, Ronald
c53b6cc2-f661-494b-833e-2100b2ba258a
Lin, Hai
b181bd6d-c29f-4667-9d6d-b6f2719a3cb8
Long, David
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Murray, Alison
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Robison, Bruce
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Ruhl, Henry
177608ef-7793-4911-86cf-cd9960ff22b6
Shaw, Timothy
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Sherman, Alana
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Sprintall, Janet
b7debd02-ea8a-44c9-b097-c5ac231a1bb2
Vernet, Maria
d76ca6cd-114c-41ec-bf9d-60b03a8b501c
Smith, Kenneth
4bc77c16-88fb-450c-8c11-a1485339c08d
Cefarelli, Adrián
adbdf855-e45d-4cab-b6a2-dc77f7555a87
Helly, John
4cdbde0c-e548-44d1-be5f-239aba0c145e
Kaufmann, Ronald
c53b6cc2-f661-494b-833e-2100b2ba258a
Lin, Hai
b181bd6d-c29f-4667-9d6d-b6f2719a3cb8
Long, David
40d62863-d9b2-4bcb-8e90-0152c22c636a
Murray, Alison
98dbf9ab-a6c4-40d4-b473-dfb92cb71525
Robison, Bruce
1e6a1833-8cd5-4d61-b4f6-150fa08a1a22
Ruhl, Henry
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Shaw, Timothy
a259513e-98c1-4ad4-88ed-98db5ce21d80
Sherman, Alana
1e07f3bb-087a-400a-a071-ab29d04bc253
Sprintall, Janet
b7debd02-ea8a-44c9-b097-c5ac231a1bb2

Vernet, Maria, Smith, Kenneth, Cefarelli, Adrián, Helly, John, Kaufmann, Ronald, Lin, Hai, Long, David, Murray, Alison, Robison, Bruce, Ruhl, Henry, Shaw, Timothy, Sherman, Alana and Sprintall, Janet (2012) Islands of Ice: Influence of Free-Drifting Antarctic Icebergs on Pelagic Marine Ecosystems. Oceanography, 25 (3), 38-39. (doi:10.5670/oceanog.2012.72).

Record type: Article

Abstract

Regional warming around West Antarctica, including the Antarctic Peninsula, is related to the retreat of glaciers that has resulted in significant ice mass loss in recent decades (De Angelis and Skvarca, 2003). Large icebergs (> 18.5 km long) originating from ice shelves in the Ross and Weddell Seas (Scambos et al., 2000) are attributed primarily to major loss events in these regions. Once free, icebergs become entrained in the counterclockwise Antarctic Coastal Current (Figure 1), eventually entering a strong northward flow in the Northwest Weddell Sea. We examined free-drifting icebergs in the Atlantic sector of the Southern Ocean in December 2005, aboard ARSV Laurence M. Gould, and in June 2008 and March/April 2009, aboard RVIB Nathaniel B. Palmer. Prior to these studies, little information was available about the effects of icebergs on the pelagic realm. On these cruises, we investigated the "iceberg ecosystem" (Smith et al., 2007; Smith, 2011) to assess the degree to which icebergs are (1) hotspots of biological activity across multiple trophic levels, and (2) focal points for enhanced export of organic carbon to the deep sea. An important focus of this work was to examine the fundamental mechanisms by which icebergs affect the pelagic ecosystem, including physical disruption and effects on the availability of critical nutrients (e.g., iron, nitrate).

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Published date: September 2012
Organisations: Marine Biogeochemistry

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Local EPrints ID: 343401
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/343401
ISSN: 1042-8275
PURE UUID: d35b17df-fbb4-48d9-9eb1-2662181110cc

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Date deposited: 02 Oct 2012 13:24
Last modified: 14 Mar 2024 12:03

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Contributors

Author: Maria Vernet
Author: Kenneth Smith
Author: Adrián Cefarelli
Author: John Helly
Author: Ronald Kaufmann
Author: Hai Lin
Author: David Long
Author: Alison Murray
Author: Bruce Robison
Author: Henry Ruhl
Author: Timothy Shaw
Author: Alana Sherman
Author: Janet Sprintall

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