Abstract
AbstractSurface ponds on Antarctic fast ice were examined by measuring temperature, salinity and concentrations of chlorophyll a (Chl-a), dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) and nutrients (NO3 + NO2, PO4 and SiO2) in the surface pond water and under-ice water. Sea-ice cores were also collected from the bottom of a surface pond (pond-ice core) and from a site away from the pond (bare-ice core). Time-series measurements of surface pond water temperature showed that it varied with solar radiation rather than with air temperature. Comparison of water properties between surface pond water and under-ice water suggested that DIC and nutrients were consumed by biological productivity during pond formation. Depth profiles of nutrient concentrations in the pond-ice core suggested the remineralization of organic matter at the bottom of the surface pond. The Chl-a concentration was lower at the bottom of the pond-ice core than in the bare-ice core, suggesting that surface pond formation reduces ice algae abundance in sea ice because meltwater flushes algae from the porous sea ice into the under-ice water.
Highlights
Surface melting of sea ice is triggered by solar radiation during the spring and summer
Surface pond water was collected from nine ponds on multiyear landfast ice in Lutzow-Holm Bay from 29 January to 5 February 2010 (Fig. 1; Tables 1 and 2)
The temperature of surface pond water was measured at 0.3 m depth in each surface pond, and that of under-ice water was measured at 1 and 7 m below the bottom of the sea ice with a needle-type temperature sensor (Testo 110 NTC, Brandt Instruments, Inc., Prairieville, LA, USA) at each sampling time
Summary
Surface melting of sea ice is triggered by solar radiation during the spring and summer. Quantified changes in the area occupied by surface ponds throughout the seasonal cycle using satellite data on Arctic sea-ice coverage. These studies of surface ponds, have focused mainly on ponds on Arctic sea ice, surface pond formation on Antarctic sea ice is not uncommon (Ackley and Sullivan, 1994; Haas and others, 2001; Schnack-Schiel and others, 2001; Kennedy and others, 2002). Even in Antarctica, surface ponds on sea ice are found in areas of multi-year landfast ice near the continental coast (Wadhams, 2000) and around pressure ridges (Ackley and Sullivan, 1994; Haas and others, 2001; Kennedy and others, 2002).
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