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New estimates of microalgae production based upon nitrate reductions under sea ice in Canadian shelf seas and the Canada Basin of the Arctic Ocean

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Abstract

New estimates of production of sub-ice and ice microalgae in the shelf seas of the Canadian Arctic and in the Canada Basin of the Arctic Ocean derived from reduction of nitrates in the water column, as recorded in time series available in publicly held data bases, suggest that it is of greater magnitude (up to 30 g C m−2 year−1) and represent a higher proportion (up to 50 % on the shelf and 90 % in the Canada Basin) of net community production than previously estimated for both areas.

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Acknowledgments

We are grateful to M. Steele for his helpful comments. PA Matrai was supported by National Science Foundation ARC-0901438. These data are publicly available at http://psc.apl.washington.edu/cgi-bin/PPobs/PPobs.cgi, along with the Arctic Primary Productivity (ARCSS-PP) nutrient data set (Codispoti et al. 2013) that is also available at National Oceanographic Data Center (www.nodc.noaa.gov/).

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  1. Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences, East Boothbay Harbor, ME, 04544, USA

    Patricia Matrai

  2. 43 Eastern Avenue, Boothbay Harbor, ME, 04538, USA

    Spencer Apollonio

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  1. Patricia Matrai
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Correspondence to Patricia Matrai.

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Communicated by S.W.A. Naqvi.

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Matrai, P., Apollonio, S. New estimates of microalgae production based upon nitrate reductions under sea ice in Canadian shelf seas and the Canada Basin of the Arctic Ocean. Mar Biol 160, 1297–1309 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00227-013-2181-0

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