Detrital Input Sustains Diatom Production off a Glaciated Arctic Coast
(2024) In Geophysical Research Letters 51(12).- Abstract
In the Arctic and subarctic oceans, the relatively low supply of silicon (compared to other nutrients) can make it limiting for the growth of diatoms, a fundamental building block of the oceanic food web. Glaciers release large quantities of dissolved silicon and dissolvable solid amorphous silica phases into high-latitude estuaries (fjords), but the role of these glacially-derived silica phases in sustaining diatom growth in the coastal and open-water sectors remains unknown. Here we show how stable and radiogenic silicon isotopes can be used together to address this question, using southwest Greenland as a case study. This study finds enhanced levels of detrital (i.e., mineral) amorphous silica, likely glacially-sourced, sustaining a... (More)
In the Arctic and subarctic oceans, the relatively low supply of silicon (compared to other nutrients) can make it limiting for the growth of diatoms, a fundamental building block of the oceanic food web. Glaciers release large quantities of dissolved silicon and dissolvable solid amorphous silica phases into high-latitude estuaries (fjords), but the role of these glacially-derived silica phases in sustaining diatom growth in the coastal and open-water sectors remains unknown. Here we show how stable and radiogenic silicon isotopes can be used together to address this question, using southwest Greenland as a case study. This study finds enhanced levels of detrital (i.e., mineral) amorphous silica, likely glacially-sourced, sustaining a large portion of diatom growth observed off the coast, revealing how the phytoplankton community can function during high-meltwater periods.
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- author
- Ng, Hong Chin ; Hendry, Katharine R. ; Ward, Rachael ; Woodward, E. M.S. ; Leng, Melanie J. ; Pickering, Rebecca A. LU and Krause, Jeffrey W.
- organization
- publishing date
- 2024-06-28
- type
- Contribution to journal
- publication status
- published
- subject
- keywords
- Arctic coast, glacial weathering products, isotope application, nutrient cycling, Polar marine ecosystems
- in
- Geophysical Research Letters
- volume
- 51
- issue
- 12
- article number
- e2024GL108324
- publisher
- American Geophysical Union (AGU)
- external identifiers
-
- scopus:85195682536
- ISSN
- 0094-8276
- DOI
- 10.1029/2024GL108324
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- id
- fed2193b-0daa-46d9-8fb3-2bc560be3fd3
- date added to LUP
- 2024-08-19 13:53:30
- date last changed
- 2024-08-19 13:54:19
@article{fed2193b-0daa-46d9-8fb3-2bc560be3fd3, abstract = {{<p>In the Arctic and subarctic oceans, the relatively low supply of silicon (compared to other nutrients) can make it limiting for the growth of diatoms, a fundamental building block of the oceanic food web. Glaciers release large quantities of dissolved silicon and dissolvable solid amorphous silica phases into high-latitude estuaries (fjords), but the role of these glacially-derived silica phases in sustaining diatom growth in the coastal and open-water sectors remains unknown. Here we show how stable and radiogenic silicon isotopes can be used together to address this question, using southwest Greenland as a case study. This study finds enhanced levels of detrital (i.e., mineral) amorphous silica, likely glacially-sourced, sustaining a large portion of diatom growth observed off the coast, revealing how the phytoplankton community can function during high-meltwater periods.</p>}}, author = {{Ng, Hong Chin and Hendry, Katharine R. and Ward, Rachael and Woodward, E. M.S. and Leng, Melanie J. and Pickering, Rebecca A. and Krause, Jeffrey W.}}, issn = {{0094-8276}}, keywords = {{Arctic coast; glacial weathering products; isotope application; nutrient cycling; Polar marine ecosystems}}, language = {{eng}}, month = {{06}}, number = {{12}}, publisher = {{American Geophysical Union (AGU)}}, series = {{Geophysical Research Letters}}, title = {{Detrital Input Sustains Diatom Production off a Glaciated Arctic Coast}}, url = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1029/2024GL108324}}, doi = {{10.1029/2024GL108324}}, volume = {{51}}, year = {{2024}}, }