Hydrography, inorganic nutrients and chlorophyll a linked to sea ice cover in the Atlantic Water inflow region north of Svalbard

Abstract

Changes in the inflow of Atlantic Water (AW) and its properties to the Arctic Ocean bring more warm water, contribute to sea ice decline, promote borealisation of marine ecosystems, and affect biological and particularly primary productivity in the Eurasian Arctic Ocean. One of the two branches of AW inflow follows the shelf break north of Svalbard, where it dominates oceanographic conditions, bringing in heat, salt, nutrients and organisms. However, the interplay with sea ice and Polar Surface Water (PSW) determines the supply of nutrients to the euphotic layer especially northeast of Svalbard where AW subducts below PSW. In an effort to build up a time series monitoring the key characteristics of the AW inflow, repeat sampling of hydrography, macronutrients (nitrate, phosphate and silicate), and chlorophyll a (chl a) was undertaken along a transect across the AW inflow at 31°E, 81.5°N since 2012 — first during late summer and in later years during early winter. Such time series are scarce but invaluable for investigating the range of variability in hydrography and nutrient concentrations. We investigate linkages between late summer hydrographic conditions and nutrient concentrations along the transect and the preceding seasonal dynamics of surface chl a and sea ice cover in the region north of Svalbard. We find large interannual variability in hydrography, nutrients and chl a, indicating varying levels of nutrient drawdown by primary producers over summer. Sea ice conditions varied considerably between the years, impacting upper ocean stratification, light availability and potential wind-driven mixing, with a strong potential for steering chl a concentration over the productive season. Early winter measurements show variable efficiency of nutrient re-supply through vertical mixing when stratification was low, related to autumn wind forcing and sea ice conditions. While this re-supply elevates nutrient levels sufficiently for primary production, it likely happens too late in the season when light levels are already low, limiting the potential for autumn blooms. Such multidisciplinary observations provide insight into the interplay between physical, chemical and biological drivers in the marine environment and are key to understanding ongoing and future changes, especially at this entrance to the central Arctic Ocean.