An in situ Method for Measuring Primary Productivity of Arctic Sea Ice Algae

Abstract

With the use of SCUBA diving and a new 14C incubation chamber, the rates of carbon fixation by the algal community that lives within the undersurface of sea ice have been measured. Rates of primary productivity ranged from 7.67-mg C/m2∙hr near the peak of the bloom to a low of 0.30-mg C/m2∙hr just prior to the thaw period.