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Northward Expansion and Intensification of Phytoplankton Growth During the Early Ice‐Free Season in Arctic
Author(s) -
Renaut S.,
Devred E.,
Babin M.
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
geophysical research letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.007
H-Index - 273
eISSN - 1944-8007
pISSN - 0094-8276
DOI - 10.1029/2018gl078995
Subject(s) - phytoplankton , oceanography , sea ice , environmental science , arctic , arctic ice pack , spring (device) , arctic sea ice decline , primary productivity , marine ecosystem , spring bloom , climatology , ecosystem , drift ice , geology , ecology , nutrient , biology , mechanical engineering , engineering
In the last decades, reduction of the ice cover has been documented to affect the structure and the functioning of Arctic marine ecosystems. One direct consequence is earlier phytoplankton spring blooms and larger annual primary production compared with previous decades. However, the impact of changes in the dynamics of sea ice specifically on phytoplankton spring blooms, a major contributor of the annual primary production in the Arctic Ocean, remains poorly known. Here we report on their temporal and spatial variabilities in open waters between 2003 and 2013 using satellite ocean color data. We observed a significant increase in primary productivity of phytoplankton spring blooms in different sectors of the Arctic Ocean, especially in the Barents and Kara Seas. Satellite observations also revealed a northward expansion of these blooms at a rate of 1° per decade driven by the Barents and the Kara regions.