Increasing Nutrient Fluxes and Mixing Regime Changes in the Eastern Arctic Ocean


Contact
sinhue.torres-valdes [ at ] awi.de, Markus.janout@awi.de

Abstract

Primary productivity in the Arctic Ocean is experiencing dramatic changes linked to the receding sea ice cover. The vertical transport of nutrients from deeper water layers is the limiting factor for primary production. Here, we compare coincident profiles of turbulence and nutrients from the Siberian Seas in 2007, 2008, and 2018. In all years, the water column structure in the upstream region of the Arctic Boundary Current promotes upward nutrient transport, in contrast to the regions further downstream, and there are first indications for an eastward progression of these conditions. In summer 2018, strongly enhanced vertical nitrate flux and primary production above the continental slope were observed, likely related to a remote storm. The estimated contribution of these elevated fluxes above the slope to the Pan-Arctic vertical nitrate supply is comparable with the basin-wide transport, and is predicted to increase with declining sea ice cover in the future.



Item Type
Article
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Divisions
Primary Division
Programs
Primary Topic
Publication Status
Published
Eprint ID
56445
DOI 10.1029/2021GL096152

Cite as
Schulz, K. , Lincoln, B. , Povazhnyy, V. , Rippeth, T. , Lenn, Y. , Janout, M. , Alkire, M. , Scannell, B. and Torres‐Valdés, S. (2022): Increasing Nutrient Fluxes and Mixing Regime Changes in the Eastern Arctic Ocean , Geophysical Research Letters, 49 (5) . doi: 10.1029/2021GL096152


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