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Marine primary production in the Canadian Arctic, 1956, 1961–1963

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Abstract

Marine primary productivity studies pursued in the Canadian Arctic in 1961–1963, using standard techniques (oxygen and carbon-14) of the time, showed that maximum production developed rapidly in July at 5-m depth under very low light intensities and under intact but melting sea ice. The time of maximum production was correlated with depths of snow in spring. Low production levels were found in August in those years and estimated in 1956. Nitrate exhaustion occurred before maximum production and was followed by rapid sinking of chlorophyll and productivity and reduction of assimilation numbers. Gross production values greatly exceeded net production values in 1961–1963, and gross production in 2 years was about double that of a third year, which may be due to different initial conditions of nutrient concentrations in the euphotic zone. Interannual variability in primary production may be the result of changes in water masses in the surface layer, as driven by atmospheric pressure patterns.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by The Arctic Institute of North America which received funds from numerous sources. The field work was assisted by B. Beck and M. Weinstein. Technical support at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution was generously offered by J. H. Ryther, C. S. Yentsch, N. Corwin, R. Vaccaro and R. R. L. Guillard. M. J. Dunbar at McGill University encouraged the work from its inception and supported the initial data analysis. P. A. Matrai was supported by National Science Foundation ARC-0629348. These data have been entered into the Arctic Primary Productivity (ARCSS-PP) data base that is publicly available at the U.S. National Oceanographic Data Center (http://www.nodc.noaa.gov).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. 43 Eastern Avenue, Boothbay Harbor, ME, 04538, USA

    Spencer Apollonio

  2. Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences, West Boothbay Harbor, ME, 04575, USA

    Patricia Matrai

Authors
  1. Spencer Apollonio
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  2. Patricia Matrai
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Correspondence to Patricia Matrai.

Electronic supplementary material

Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.

Supplemental Table 1. Total estimated primary production in Allen Bay, 1956, and Jones Sound, 1961–3 (DOC 26 kb)

300_2010_928_MOESM2_ESM.doc

Supplemental Table 2. Maximum daily rates of primary productivity in Allen Bay, 1956, and Jones Sound, 1961–3 (DOC 24 kb)

300_2010_928_MOESM3_ESM.doc

Supplemental Table 3. Maximum chlorophyll concentration each year in Allen Bay, 1956, and Jones Sound, 1961–3 (DOC 24 kb)

Supplemental Table 4. Spring snow depths, dates of maximum photosynthesis and of ice-out (DOC 24 kb)

300_2010_928_MOESM5_ESM.doc

Supplemental Table 5. Summary of assimilation numbers in Jones Sound, mg C (mg Chl a)−1 h−1 derived from gross (O2) and net (14C) photosynthesis, indicating number of samples (N), average (ave.), range, and standard error (SE) (DOC 24 kb)

Supplemental Table 6. Assimilation numbers before and after exhaustion of nitrate at 5 m on July 8, 1963 (DOC 24 kb)

300_2010_928_MOESM7_ESM.doc

Supplemental Table 7. Salinities and pre-bloom nutrients (ranges) at 2–10 m under snow-covered intact ice in Jones Sound (DOC 24 kb)

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Apollonio, S., Matrai, P. Marine primary production in the Canadian Arctic, 1956, 1961–1963. Polar Biol 34, 767–774 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-010-0928-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-010-0928-3

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