Published

Credit: US LTER

Credit: US LTER

Between 2010 and 2017, the PAL LTER study area experienced cooler winter air temperatures, cooler summer surface ocean temperatures, and longer ice seasons relative to the first decade of the 21st century (but not relative to the 1950s-1970s). This has slowed sea ice declines, which is associated with increased primary productivity and ocean CO2 drawdown. Springtime phytoplankton productivity and krill recruitment increased in years with high winter sea ice, which fed directly into penguin diets. These processes are allowing researchers to assess the potential for food web recovery.

Learn more

  1. Schofield, O et al. 2018. Changes in upper ocean mixed layer and phytoplankton productivity along the West Antarctic Peninsula. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society. doi 10.1098/ rsta.2017.0173
  2. Saba, GK et al. 2014. Winter and spring controls on the summer food web of the coastal West Antarctic Peninsula. Nature Communications. doi: 10.1038/ncomms5318
  3. Brown, MS et al. 2019. Enhanced oceanic CO2 uptake along the rapidly changing West Antarctic Peninsula. Nature Climate Change. doi: 10.1038/s41558-019-0552-3
  4. Stukel, MR. et al. 2015. The Imbalance of New and Export Production in the Western Antarctic Peninsula, a Potentially “Leaky” Ecosystem. Global Biogeochemical Cycles. doi: 10.1002/2015GB005211

Contact

Oscar Schofield
oscar@marine.rutgers.edu

Posted:  July 10, 2020