TY - JOUR
T1 - Large diatom bloom off the Antarctic Peninsula during cool conditions associated with the 2015/2016 El Niño
AU - Costa, Raul Rodrigo
AU - Mendes, Carlos Rafael Borges
AU - Ferreira, Afonso
AU - Tavano, Virginia Maria
AU - Dotto, Tiago Segabinazzi
AU - Secchi, Eduardo Resende
PY - 2021/12/9
Y1 - 2021/12/9
N2 - Diatoms play crucial functions in trophic structure and biogeochemical cycles. Due to poleward warming, there has been a substantial decrease in diatom biomass, especially in Antarctic regions that experience strong physical changes. Here we analyze the phytoplankton contents of water samples collected in the spring/summer of 2015/2016 off the North Antarctic Peninsula during the extreme El Niño event and compare them with corresponding satellite chlorophyll-a data. The results suggest a close link between large diatom blooms, upper ocean physical structures and sea ice cover, as a consequence of the El Niño effects. We observed massive concentrations (up to 40 mg m–3 of in situ chlorophyll-a) of diatoms coupled with substantially colder atmospheric and oceanic temperatures and high mean salinity values associated with a lower input of meltwater. We hypothesize that increased meltwater concentration due to continued atmospheric and oceanic warming trends will lead to diatom blooms becoming more episodic and spatially/temporally restricted.
AB - Diatoms play crucial functions in trophic structure and biogeochemical cycles. Due to poleward warming, there has been a substantial decrease in diatom biomass, especially in Antarctic regions that experience strong physical changes. Here we analyze the phytoplankton contents of water samples collected in the spring/summer of 2015/2016 off the North Antarctic Peninsula during the extreme El Niño event and compare them with corresponding satellite chlorophyll-a data. The results suggest a close link between large diatom blooms, upper ocean physical structures and sea ice cover, as a consequence of the El Niño effects. We observed massive concentrations (up to 40 mg m–3 of in situ chlorophyll-a) of diatoms coupled with substantially colder atmospheric and oceanic temperatures and high mean salinity values associated with a lower input of meltwater. We hypothesize that increased meltwater concentration due to continued atmospheric and oceanic warming trends will lead to diatom blooms becoming more episodic and spatially/temporally restricted.
U2 - 10.1038/s43247-021-00322-4
DO - 10.1038/s43247-021-00322-4
M3 - Article
VL - 2
JO - Communications Earth & Environment
JF - Communications Earth & Environment
SN - 2662-4435
IS - 1
M1 - 252
ER -
