EARLY SPRING PHYTOPLANKTON BLOOMS IN ICE PLATELET LAYERS OF THE SOUTHERN WEDDELL SEA, ANTARCTICA

A dense diatom bloom growing in a shallow stratified layer maintained in position by loose ice platelets was found underlying pack-ice bordering the coastal polynyas of the Weddell Sea ice shelf south of 74-degrees-S in early spring well before the onset of seasonal melt. This rich bloom, which covered ca 20,000 km 2 contrasted with the barrenness of the entire area between 74-degrees-S and the northern edge of the pack-ice at 58-degrees-S; its presence is explained by favourable conditions for accumulation of several decimetre-thick ice platelet layers under pack-ice of the southern shelf. Nutrient exhaustion and mass sinking of diatom chains were observed in this layer. Centric diatoms suspended in interstitial water dominated this bloom, which contrasted strongly with the flora of attached pennates typical of ice platelet layers underlying fast ice. Superblooms have been described previously from the southern Weddell Sea, although their developmental dynamics were not known at the time. We provide explanations for several perplexing features of this superbloom and show that they are significant in enhancing productivity of the Weddell Sea.