Polar Biol (2002) 25: 41±48 DOI 10.1007/s003000100309
O R I GI N A L P A P E R
Irene R. Schloss á Gustavo A. Ferreyra
Primary production, light and vertical mixing in Potter Cove, a shallow bay in the maritime Antarctic
Accepted: 22 June 2001 / Published online: 16 August 2001 Ó Springer-Verlag 2001
Abstract Phytoplankton photosynthesis was measured during spring±summer 1991±1992 in the inner and outer part of the shallow Potter Cove, King George Island. Strong winds characterise this area. Wind-induced turbulent mixing was quanti®ed by means of the root-mean square expected vertical displacement depth of cells in the water column, Zt. The light attenuation coecient was used as a measure of the in¯uence of the large amount of terrigenous particles usually present in the water column; 1% light penetration ranged between 30 and 9 m, and between 30 and 15 m for the inner and outer cove, respectively. Obvious dierences between photosynthetic capacity [P*max; averages 2.6 and 0.6 lg C (lg chlorophyll-a)±1 h±1] and photosynthetic eciency {a*; 0.073 and 0.0018 lg C (lg chlorophyll-a)±1 h±1 [(lmol m±2 s±1)±1]} values were obtained for both sites during low mixing conditions (Zt from 10 to 20 m), while no dierences were found for high mixing situations (Zt>20 m). This suggests dierent photoacclimation of phytoplankton responses, induced by modi®cations of the light ®eld, which in turn are controlled by physical forcing. Our results suggest that although in experimental work P*max can be high, wind-induced mixing and low irradiance will prevent profuse phytoplankton development in the area.
This paper presents results of the Midterm Symposium of the SCAR programme ``Ecology of the Antarctic Sea Ice Zone'' (EASIZ). The manuscript was edited by W. Arntz and A. Clarke. I.R. Schloss (&) á G.A. Ferreyra Instituto AntaÂrtico Argentino, Cerrito 1248 (C1010AAZ) Buenos Aires, Argentina E-mail:
[email protected] Fax: +54-11-48122039 I.R. Schloss CONICET, Argentina
Introduction Antarctic shallow coastal environments' (
