2012, Oceanography 25(3):38–39, http://dx.doi.org/10.5670/oceanog.2012.72
SIDEBAR | Islands of Ice: Influence of Free-Drifting Antarctic Icebergs on Pelagic Marine Ecosystems
Authors | First Paragraph | Full Article | Citation | References
Authors
Maria Vernet | Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA
Kenneth L. Smith Jr. | Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute, Moss Landing, CA, USA
Adrián O. Cefarelli | Universidad de La Plata, La Plata, Argentina
John J. Helly | Laboratory for Earth and Environmental Sciences, San Diego Supercomputer Center, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA
Ronald S. Kaufmann | University of San Diego, San Diego, CA, USA
Hai Lin | University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC, USA
David G. Long | Brigham Young University, Provo, UT, USA
Alison E. Murray | Desert Research Institute, Reno, NV, USA
Bruce H. Robison | Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute, Moss Landing, CA, USA
Henry A. Ruhl | Ocean Biochemistry and Ecosystems, National Oceanography Centre, Southampton, UK
Timothy J. Shaw | University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC, USA
Alana D. Sherman | Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute, Moss Landing, CA, USA
Janet Sprintall | Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA
Gordon R. Stephenson Jr. | Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA
Keith M. Stuart | Brigham Young University, Provo, UT, USA
Benjamin S. Twining | Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences, Booth Bay Harbor, ME, USA
First Paragraph
Regional warming around West Antarctica, including the Antarctic Peninsula, is related to the retreat of glaciers that has resulted in significant ice mass loss in recent decades (De Angelis and Skvarca, 2003). Large icebergs (> 18.5 km long) originating from ice shelves in the Ross and Weddell Seas (Scambos et al., 2000) are attributed primarily to major loss events in these regions. Once free, icebergs become entrained in the counterclockwise Antarctic Coastal Current (Figure 1), eventually entering a strong northward flow in the Northwest Weddell Sea. We examined free-drifting icebergs in the Atlantic sector of the Southern Ocean in December 2005, aboard ARSV Laurence M. Gould, and in June 2008 and March/April 2009, aboard RVIB Nathaniel B. Palmer. Prior to these studies, little information was available about the effects of icebergs on the pelagic realm. On these cruises, we investigated the "iceberg ecosystem" (Smith et al., 2007; Smith, 2011) to assess the degree to which icebergs are (1) hotspots of biological activity across multiple trophic levels, and (2) focal points for enhanced export of organic carbon to the deep sea. An important focus of this work was to examine the fundamental mechanisms by which icebergs affect the pelagic ecosystem, including physical disruption and effects on the availability of critical nutrients (e.g., iron, nitrate).
Full Article
Citation
Vernet, M., K.L. Smith Jr., A.O. Cefarelli, J.J. Helly, R.S. Kaufmann, H. Lin, D.G. Long, A.E. Murray, B.H. Robison, H.A. Ruhl, T.J. Shaw, A.D. Sherman, J. Sprintall, G.R. Stephenson Jr., K.M. Stuart, and B.S. Twining. 2012. Islands of ice: Influence of free-drifting Antarctic icebergs on pelagic marine ecosystems. Oceanography 25(3):38–39, http://dx.doi.org/10.5670/oceanog.2012.72.
References
De Angelis, H.D., and P. Skvarca. 2003. Glacier surge after ice shelf collapse. Science 299:1,560–1,562, http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.1077987.
Scambos, T.A., C. Hulbe, M. Fahnestock, and J. Bohlander. 2000. The link between climate warming and break-up of ice shelves in the Antarctic Peninsula. Journal of Glaciolology 46:516–530, http://dx.doi.org/10.3189/172756500781833043.
Smith, K.L. Jr., B.H. Robison, J.J. Helly, R.S. Kaufmann, H.A. Ruhl, T.J. Shaw, B.S. Twining, and M. Vernet. 2007. Free-drifting icebergs: Hot spots of chemical and biological enrichment in the Weddell Sea. Science 317:478–482, http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.1142834.
Smith, K.L. Jr. 2011. Free-drifting icebergs in the Southern Ocean: An overview. Deep Sea Research Part II 58:1,277–1,284, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.dsr2.2010.11.003.
Stuart, K.M., and D.G. Long. 2011. Tracking large tabular icebergs using the SeaWinds Ku-band microwave scatterometer. Deep-Sea Research Part II 58:1,285–1,300, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.dsr2.2010.11.004.