Biomarkers including brassicasterol, dinosterol and alkenone in sediments are used as indicators to reconstruct changes to the phytoplankton community in surface and sub-aerial sediments of Prydz Bay, Antarctica. The results indicate that the biomarker records in surface and core sediment samples changed with time and space. The total content of phytoplankton biomarkers ranges from 391.0-1 470.6 ng·g-1 . The phytoplankton biomass has increased in Prydz Bay over the past 100 years. This variation may be mainly related with climate change in the region. The total biomarker contents in surface sediments from 5 stations in Prydz Bay are in the range of 215.8-1 294.3 ng·g-1 . The phytoplankton biomass in Prydz Bay is higher than that outside of the bay. This is similar to the distributions of chlorophyll a, organic carbon and biogenic silica in surface waters determined through in situ investigation. Such consistency indicates a coupling between the bottom of the ocean and biogeochemical processes in the upper water.
The historical data of phytoplankton and chlorophyll a(Chl a)(1990–2002)obtained during the Chinese National Antarctic Research Expedition(CHINARE)in the Prydz Bay have been integrated.The results showed that the temperature,salinity,nutrients,and oxygen of seawater changed when El Nino/La Nina occurred.The variation of biological communities reflected the response of ecosystem to environmental changes.During El Ni?o period,Chl a concentration and phytoplankton community structure changed significantly,and the relative proportion of diatoms increased while dinoflagellates decreased.During La Ni?a period,the proportion of diatoms decreased,but the golden-brown algae and blue-green algae increased significantly.The variation of phytoplankton population directly affected the biodiversity of the bay,which were also quite sensitive to the marine environment changes.Meanwhile,the satellite remote sensing data of 2002–2011(December–March)have been used to study the temporal connection change of Chl a and phytoplankton in the Prydz Bay.We found that there were significant differences in the monthly variation characteristics of satellite remote sensing Chl a and sea surface temperature(SST),which had some links with sea ice melting and El Ni?o/La Ni?a events.We found that the start time of bloom advanced,lagged or synchronized with the changes of the SST,and we also found the occurrence time of phytoplankton bloom corresponded with the sea ice melting inner bay.To some extent,this study will help us understand the relationships between ENSO events and the phytoplankton bloom in the Southern Ocean.
The concentrations and distributions of particulate biogenic silica (PBSi) in the upper surface waters of Prydz Bay, Antarctica, were investigated during the 27th Chinese National Antarctic Research Expedition cruises of January 2011. We aimed to characterize the correlations between PBSi and plankton, nutrients and particulate organic carbon. The results showed that the concentrations of biogenic silica ranged from 0.76-19.72 μmol dm-3 and the average concentration of biogenic silica was 6.06 μmol dm-3 . The distribution of surface PBSi had significant regional characteristics: The concentrations were higher south of 67°S than to the north. The distribution of PBSi, chlorophyll a and particulate organic carbon showed similar patterns, and PBSi distribution had a negative correlation with that of silicate. In the vertical direction, the mole ratio of PBSi and POC (Sibio /Corg ) decreased with increasing depth. This trend indicated a higher rate of PBSi dissolution, or a lower rate of organic matter remineralization rate, in the upper 200 m.
Concentrations of biogenic barium were investigated in surface sediments of Prydz Bay,Antarctica,during the 21st and27th CHINARE cruises.Factors controlling the observed distribution are explored.Biogenic barium concentrations obtained from a sequential extraction procedure are compared with total concentrations obtained from the normative calculation based on a total digestion,and differences in the results are examined.Concentrations of biogenic barium,calculated by the normative calculation,were much higher than the concentrations obtained through sequential extraction;this discrepancy is the result of the occurrence of barium associated with Mn/Fe oxides,which represents an important component of total barium in these sediments.Concentrations of biogenic barium obtained from the sequential extraction range from 104 to 445μg·g^(-1),and the average concentration was227μg·g^(-1).The highest concentrations of biogenic barium occur in the central area of the bay,where the seawater is more stable,while lower values occur in the bank and the ice shelf.Biogenic barium is significantly linearly correlated with biogenic barium and organic carbon,and similar in distribution of Chl a,which may indicate that primary productivity of phytoplankton in the surface water column is the main environmental factor regulating barium concentration and distribution.
TAN SaizhangYU PeisongHU ChuanyuHAN ZhengbingZHANG Haisheng
