Publication Date:
2011-02-02
Description:
The influence of iron and light on net community production in the Subantarctic and Polar Frontal Zones Biogeosciences, 8, 227-237, 2011 Author(s): N. Cassar, P. J. DiFiore, B. A. Barnett, M. L. Bender, A. R. Bowie, B. Tilbrook, K. Petrou, K. J. Westwood, S. W. Wright, and D. Lefevre The roles of iron and light in controlling biomass and primary productivity are clearly established in the Southern Ocean. However, their influence on net community production (NCP) and carbon export remains to be quantified. To improve our understanding of NCP and carbon export production in the Subantarctic Zone (SAZ) and the northern reaches of the Polar Frontal Zone (PFZ), we conducted continuous onboard determinations of NCP as part of the Sub-Antarctic Sensitivity to Environmental Change (SAZ-Sense) study, which occurred in January–February 2007. Biological O 2 supersaturation was derived from measuring O 2 /Ar ratios by equilibrator inlet mass spectrometry. Based on these continuous measurements, NCP during the austral summer 2007 in the Australian SAZ was approximately 43 mmol O 2 m −2 d −1 . NCP showed significant spatial variability, with larger values near the Subtropical front, and a general southward decrease. For shallower mixed layers (
Print ISSN:
1726-4170
Electronic ISSN:
1726-4189
Topics:
Biology
,
Geosciences
