Abstract:

Few combined measurements of primary and bacterial productivity exist for Arctic sea ice, particularly during winter, making it difficult to assess the relative importance of these microbial processes for carbon cycling in sea ice. Furthermore, the occurrence of calcium carbon-ate (CaCO3), though well-documented in sea ice, is poorly described for the overlying snow. To address these gaps, we investigated primary and bacterial productivity and carbon dynamics at 2contrasting locations: (1) a landfast site, with thick snow-covered first-year sea ice, and (2) apolynya site, with thin snow-covered young (<1 wk) sea ice. Comparisons of bacterial carbon demand and primary production indicated net heterotrophy in the sea ice at both locations, with a net carbon consumption rate of 0.87 to 1.86 mg C m−2d−1derived from sea ice bacterial carbon demand of 0.93 to 2.00 mg C m−2d−1and gross primary production of 0.06 to 0.14 mg C m−2d−1. As these microbial rates are very low, physical processes largely account for the observed CO2deple-tion in the ice. High CaCO3concentrations of 250 to 430 μmol kg−1 were measured in the snow covers which, though similar to concentrations in the underlying ice, are orders of magnitude higher than those reported from the few studies available on CaCO3in snow. Together these results suggest that the role of biology in modulating inorganic carbon cycling in ice, which can be important in spring, is minor as compared to a biotic processes.  

 Mar Ecol Prog Ser.  Vol. 611: 31– 44, 2019https://doi.org/10.3354/meps12868