Ecological implications from different characteristics of sea ice algae at different regions of the Arctic Ocean

Abstract

The different characteristics of ice algae were compared between two sites in the Western Arctic Ocean in early April, 2003. The results showed three ecological implications for the ice algae: 1) Different nutrient reservoirs within sea ice and in the surface water column at different locations might control maximum biomass of bottom ice algae and thus the relative contribution of ice algae production, 2) different initial biomass of bottom ice algae might change the timing of bloom, 3) the fate of the ice algae at the bottom of sea ice might be different among the various geographic areas.