Journal
JOURNAL OF MARINE SYSTEMS
Volume 164, Issue -, Pages 144-150Publisher
ELSEVIER
DOI: 10.1016/j.jmarsys.2016.07.011
Keywords
Chlorophyll-a; Sea ice concentration; North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO); Arctic Oscillation (AO); Greenland Sea (GS)
Funding
- NASA Earth Science MEaSUREs DISCOVER Project
- NASA Earth Science Physical Oceanography Program
- Chinese National Natural Science Foundation of China [41276097]
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Arctic marine ecosystems are disproportionately impacted by global warming. Sea ice plays an important role in the regional climate system and the loss of perennial sea ice has diverse ecological implications. Here we investigate the causes of an unusually early and strong phytoplankton bloom in the northern Greenland Sea (20 degrees W 10 degrees E, 75 degrees N -80 degrees N) during the 2010 season. In order to better understand the anomalous bloom in 2010, we examine the correlation between satellite-derived biomass and several possible environmental factors for the period 2003-2012. Results show that the timing of sea ice melt played an important role in promoting the growth of phytoplankton. Multivariate lagged regression analysis shows that phytoplankton biomass (CHL) is correlated with ice concentration (ICE) and ice melting, as well as sea surface temperature (SST) and photosynthetically active radiation (PAR). During 2010, the spring peak in biomass came much earlier and achieved a higher value than most other years in the satellite archive record, which was due to earlier and more extensive sea ice melt in that year. Relative lower SST and PAR in spring and early summer in year 2010 associated with a persistent negative North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) index were possible drivers of the bloom. Wind direction changed from the southeast to southwest direction in spring, possibly transporting nutrient enriched melt runoff from glaciers on Greenland and other sources from the south to northern coastal regions. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
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