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Production and retention of biogenic matter in the southeast Beaufort Sea during 2003–2004: insights from annual vertical particle fluxes of organic carbon and biogenic silica

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Abstract

Regional variability in the annual fluxes of particulate organic carbon (POC) and biogenic silica (Si) at the periphery of the Mackenzie Shelf (Beaufort Sea) was investigated using eight long-term sediment traps moored at ~100-m depth. Relatively high autochthonous POC and Si fluxes were recorded in the Mackenzie Trough (4.1 and 8.9 g m−2 year−1 respectively) and off Cape Bathurst (6.6 and 79 g m−2 year−1), two areas where upwelling events are frequently observed. Diatomaceous new production was minimum on the mid-slope of the Mackenzie Shelf (2.8 g C m−2 year−1), moderate in the Mackenzie Trough (14.5 g C m−2 year−1), and highest off Cape Bathurst (128.7 g C m−2 year−1). High annual autochthonous POC flux corresponded to high diatom production. Among sites, the vertical attenuation of the POC flux increased with diatomaceous new production. Hence, the retention of autochthonous POC in the surface layer (<100 m) was highest (95%) at the highly productive site off Cape Bathurst, intermediate (72%) in the moderately productive Mackenzie Trough, and low (4%) at the unproductive mid-slope of the shelf. Our results indicate that, on Arctic shelves, upwelling and the production of diatoms increase the fraction of the POC which is retained in the surface layer and diverted to the pelagic food web. In the relatively unproductive waters of the Arctic Ocean, biological hot spots such as the one identified off Cape Bathurst where the food web promotes retention rather than vertical export could be disproportionately important as feeding grounds for higher trophic levels.

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Acknowledgments

We gratefully acknowledge the support of network managers of Canadian Arctic Shelf Exchange Study (CASES): M. Fortier, M. Ringuette, and J. Michaud. We thank the officers and crew of the Canadian Coast Guard icebreakers Amundsen and Sir. Wilfid Laurier for their help on board. We also thank D. Sieberg, B. van Hardenberg, S. Blondeau, D. Robert, P. Massot, L. Létourneau, and L. Michaud for their help with on-board operations or data analysis. We thank M. Poulin and D. Barber for allowing us to share phytoplankton composition data and ice coverage data. The authors also thank M. Reigstad and two anonymous reviewers for valuable comments and suggestions on an earlier version of the manuscript. Part of this study is supported by grants from Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology to M. Fukuchi (Grant #: 11208203), to H. Sasaki (Grant #: 16510010) and from the Natural Science and Engineering Research Council of Canada to L. Fortier. This study contributes to the CASES, ArcticNet and the Canada Research Chair on the response of marine arctic ecosystems to climate warming.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Québec-Océan, Département de Biologie, Université Laval, Québec, QC, G1V0A6, Canada

    Makoto Sampei, Alexandre Forest, Jean-Éric Tremblay & Louis Fortier

  2. Senshu University of Ishinomaki, Ishinomaki, Miyagi, 986-8580, Japan

    Hiroshi Sasaki & Ryosuke Makabe

  3. Hiroshima University, Higashihiroshima, Hiroshima, 739-8528, Japan

    Ryosuke Makabe

  4. Institut national de la recherche scientifique Centre Eau, Terre & Environnement, Québec, QC, G1K9A9, Canada

    Alexandre Forest & Yves Gratton

  5. Tokai University, Minamisawa, Minamiku, Sapporo, Hokkaido, 005-8601, Japan

    Hiroshi Hattori

  6. National Institute of Polar Research, Tachikawa, Tokyo, 190-8518, Japan

    Mitsuo Fukuchi

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  1. Makoto Sampei
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  3. Ryosuke Makabe
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Correspondence to Makoto Sampei.

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Sampei, M., Sasaki, H., Makabe, R. et al. Production and retention of biogenic matter in the southeast Beaufort Sea during 2003–2004: insights from annual vertical particle fluxes of organic carbon and biogenic silica. Polar Biol 34, 501–511 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-010-0904-y

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