Seasonal and annual dynamics of particulate carbon flux in the Barents Sea

Journal Article · Sun Aug 01 00:00:00 EDT 1993 · Polar Biology; (United States)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01681977· OSTI ID:5773877

Wassmann, P ^[1]; Slagstad, D ^[2]

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1. Univ. of Tromsoe (Norway)
2. Norwegian Institute of Technology, Trondheim (Norway)

Mathematical modelling was used to explore the seasonal and annual variability of primary, new and secondary production as well as sedimentation between 72[degrees] and 80[degrees]N in the central Barents Sea during the years 1981 to 1983. 1981 and 1982 were years with extensive ice coverage while 1983 experienced little sea-ice. The phyto-plankton [open quotes]spring[close quotes] bloom started usually in April/May at about 75[degrees]N and was delayed from May/June in the south to August/September in the north as a function of thermal stratification and sea-ice dynamics. The model indicates that several, simultaneous spring bloom events, separated in space, can be found, especially during years with low ice coverage. The annual estimates of primary production, secondary production and sedimentation decreased on average from 73, 7.3 and 48 to 18, 1.8 and 9 gCm[sup [minus]2] year[sup [minus]1] between the southern and the northern part of the Barents Sea respectively. The annual estimates of particular carbon flux were much higher in 1983 compared to 1981-1982, especially in the north where up to 6 times higher rates were calculated for 1983. The number of zooplankton species present in spring in the southern Barents Sea is governed by over-wintering success, but probably also influenced by advection of Atlantic water. The model was run for Atlantic water with 10,000, 3,000 or none copepods per m[sup 2] present in March, indicating that sedimentation can vary between 38 and 61 gCm[sup [minus]2] year[sup [minus]1] due to zooplankton grazing alone. This suggests that the supply of organic carbon to the aphotic zone of the Barents Sea is only partly determined by the strength and duration of phytoplankton blooms, but strongly influenced by zooplankton dynamics. 49 refs., 6 figs., 3 tabs.

• OSTI ID: 5773877
• Journal Information: Polar Biology; (United States), Vol. 13:6; ISSN 0722-4060
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
PHYTOPLANKTON
PRODUCTIVITY
MATHEMATICAL MODELS
SEAS
SEDIMENTATION
ADVECTION
ANNUAL VARIATIONS
CARBON CYCLE
COPEPODS
DYNAMICS
GRAZING
ICE
NORTHERN HEMISPHERE
PLANKTON
SEASONAL VARIATIONS
STRATIFICATION
ZOOPLANKTON
ANIMALS
AQUATIC ORGANISMS
ARTHROPODS
CRUSTACEANS
EARTH PLANET
FEEDING
INVERTEBRATES
MASS TRANSFER
MECHANICS
PLANETS
PLANTS
SURFACE WATERS
VARIATIONS
550700* - Microbiology
550500 - Metabolism