Effects of solar ultraviolet radiation on antarctic phytoplankton during springtime ozone depletion
- Univ. of California, La Jolla, CA (United States); and others
In recent years, much attention has been given to the formation of the seasonal ozone {open_quotes}hole{close_quotes} over Antarctica, with the concomitant increase in ultraviolet-B [UV-B, 280-320-nanometer (nm)] radiation levels. The enhanced UV-B radiation can be very damaging to biological systems and has been shown to cause a significant decrease in rates of primary production. This paper describes the impact of {open_quotes}normal{close_quotes} ultraviolet radiation (UVR), as well as enhanced UV-B radiation, on natural assemblages of phytoplankton as well as on just the nanoplankton fraction cells less than 20 micrometers ({mu}m). The studies also included estimation of the impact of UVR as influenced by the taxonomic composition of the phytoplankton and the mitigating effect of cellular UV-absorbing compounds. All studies were carried out at Palmer Station (64.7{degrees}S 64.1{degrees}W) on Anvers Island from early October to the end of December 1993. This period provided excellent opportunities to document the impact of enhanced UV-B radiation on phytoplankton because the ozone hole was very well developed over Palmer Station in the month of October; column ozone concentrations ranged from 140 to 220 Dobson units (DU). 10 refs, 3 figs.
- OSTI ID:
- 181814
- Journal Information:
- Antarctic Journal of the United States, Vol. 29, Issue 5; Other Information: PBD: 1994
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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