| 1. |
- Fripiat, F., et al.
(author)
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Influence of the bordering shelves on nutrient distribution in the Arctic halocline inferred from water column nitrate isotopes
- 2018
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In: Limnology and Oceanography. - : Wiley. - 0024-3590 .- 1939-5590. ; 63:5, s. 2154-2170
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The East Siberian Sea and contiguous western Arctic Ocean basin are characterized by a subsurface nutrient maximum in the halocline, generally attributed to both Pacific inflow and intensive remineralization in shelf bottom waters that are advected into the central basin. We report nitrogen and oxygen isotopic measurement of nitrate from the East Siberian Sea and western Eurasian Basin, in order to gain insight into how nitrate is processed by the microbial community and redistributed in the Arctic Ocean. A large decoupling between nitrate delta N-15 and delta O-18 is reported, increasing and decreasing upward from the Atlantic temperature maximum layer toward the surface, respectively. A correlation between water and nitrate delta O-18 indicates that most of the nitrate (> 60%) at the halocline has been regenerated within the Arctic Ocean. The increase in nitrate delta N-15 correlates with the fixed N deficit, indicating a causal link between the loss of fixed N and the delta N-15 enrichment. This suggests that a significant share of benthic denitrification is driven by nitrate supplied by remineralization and partial nitrification, allowing residual delta N-15-enriched ammonium to diffuse out of the sediments. By increasing nutrient concentrations and fixed N deficit in shelf bottom waters, this imprint is attenuated offshore following advection into the halocline by nitrate regeneration and mixing. Estimation of the sedimentary isotope effect related to benthic denitrification yields values in the range of 2.4-3.8 parts per thousand, with its magnitude driven by both the degree of coupling between remineralization and nitrification, and fixed N concentrations in shelf bottom waters.
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| 2. |
- Fripiat, F., et al.
(author)
-
Macro-nutrient concentrations in Antarctic pack ice: Overall patterns and overlooked processes
- 2017
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In: Elementa. - : University of California Press. - 2325-1026. ; 5
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Antarctic pack ice is inhabited by a diverse and active microbial community reliant on nutrients for growth. Seeking patterns and overlooked processes, we performed a large-scale compilation of macro-nutrient data (hereafter termed nutrients) in Antarctic pack ice (306 ice-cores collected from 19 research cruises). Dissolved inorganic nitrogen and silicic acid concentrations change with time, as expected from a seasonally productive ecosystem. In winter, salinity-normalized nitrate and silicic acid concentrations (C∗) in sea ice are close to seawater concentrations (Cw), indicating little or no biological activity. In spring, nitrate and silicic acid concentrations become partially depleted with respect to seawater (C∗ < Cw), commensurate with the seasonal build-up of ice microalgae promoted by increased insolation. Stronger and earlier nitrate than silicic acid consumption suggests that a significant fraction of the primary productivity in sea ice is sustained by flagellates. By both consuming and producing ammonium and nitrite, the microbial community maintains these nutrients at relatively low concentrations in spring. With the decrease in insolation beginning in late summer, dissolved inorganic nitrogen and silicic acid concentrations increase, indicating imbalance between their production (increasing or unchanged) and consumption (decreasing) in sea ice. Unlike the depleted concentrations of both nitrate and silicic acid from spring to summer, phosphate accumulates in sea ice (C∗ > Cw). The phosphate excess could be explained by a greater allocation to phosphorus-rich biomolecules during ice algal blooms coupled with convective loss of excess dissolved nitrogen, preferential remineralization of phosphorus, and/or phosphate adsorption onto metal-organic complexes. Ammonium also appears to be efficiently adsorbed onto organic matter, with likely consequences to nitrogen mobility and availability. This dataset supports the view that the sea ice microbial community is highly efficient at processing nutrients but with a dynamic quite different from that in oceanic surface waters calling for focused future investigations. Copyright © 2017 The Author(s).
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