Temporal controls on silicic acid utilisation along the West Antarctic Peninsula

The impact of climatic change along the Antarctica Peninsula has been widely debated in light of atmospheric/oceanic warming and increases in glacial melt over the past half century. Particular concern exists over the impact of these changes on marine ecosystems, not only on primary producers but al...

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Main Authors: Swann, George E.A., Pike, Jennifer, Leng, Melanie J., Sloane, Hilary J., Snelling, Andrea M.
Format: Article
Published: Nature Publishing Group 2017
Online Access:https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/39908/
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author Swann, George E.A.
Pike, Jennifer
Leng, Melanie J.
Sloane, Hilary J.
Snelling, Andrea M.
author_facet Swann, George E.A.
Pike, Jennifer
Leng, Melanie J.
Sloane, Hilary J.
Snelling, Andrea M.
author_sort Swann, George E.A.
building Nottingham Research Data Repository
collection Online Access
description The impact of climatic change along the Antarctica Peninsula has been widely debated in light of atmospheric/oceanic warming and increases in glacial melt over the past half century. Particular concern exists over the impact of these changes on marine ecosystems, not only on primary producers but also on higher trophic levels. Here we present a record detailing the historical controls on the biogeochemical cycling of silicic acid [Si(OH)4] on the west Antarctica Peninsula margin, a region in which the modern phytoplankton environment is constrained by seasonal sea-ice. We demonstrate that Si(OH)4 cycling through the Holocene alternates between being primarily regulated by sea-ice or glacial discharge from the surrounding grounded ice-sheet. With further climate-driven change and melting forecast for the 21st Century, our findings document the potential for biogeochemical cycling and multi-trophic interactions along the peninsula to be increasingly regulated by glacial discharge, altering food-web interactions.
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spelling nottingham-399082020-05-04T18:37:31Z https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/39908/ Temporal controls on silicic acid utilisation along the West Antarctic Peninsula Swann, George E.A. Pike, Jennifer Leng, Melanie J. Sloane, Hilary J. Snelling, Andrea M. The impact of climatic change along the Antarctica Peninsula has been widely debated in light of atmospheric/oceanic warming and increases in glacial melt over the past half century. Particular concern exists over the impact of these changes on marine ecosystems, not only on primary producers but also on higher trophic levels. Here we present a record detailing the historical controls on the biogeochemical cycling of silicic acid [Si(OH)4] on the west Antarctica Peninsula margin, a region in which the modern phytoplankton environment is constrained by seasonal sea-ice. We demonstrate that Si(OH)4 cycling through the Holocene alternates between being primarily regulated by sea-ice or glacial discharge from the surrounding grounded ice-sheet. With further climate-driven change and melting forecast for the 21st Century, our findings document the potential for biogeochemical cycling and multi-trophic interactions along the peninsula to be increasingly regulated by glacial discharge, altering food-web interactions. Nature Publishing Group 2017-03-13 Article PeerReviewed Swann, George E.A., Pike, Jennifer, Leng, Melanie J., Sloane, Hilary J. and Snelling, Andrea M. (2017) Temporal controls on silicic acid utilisation along the West Antarctic Peninsula. Nature Communications, 14645 . pp. 1-8. ISSN 2041-1723 http://www.nature.com/articles/ncomms14645 doi:10.1038/ncomms14645 doi:10.1038/ncomms14645
spellingShingle Swann, George E.A.
Pike, Jennifer
Leng, Melanie J.
Sloane, Hilary J.
Snelling, Andrea M.
Temporal controls on silicic acid utilisation along the West Antarctic Peninsula
title Temporal controls on silicic acid utilisation along the West Antarctic Peninsula
title_full Temporal controls on silicic acid utilisation along the West Antarctic Peninsula
title_fullStr Temporal controls on silicic acid utilisation along the West Antarctic Peninsula
title_full_unstemmed Temporal controls on silicic acid utilisation along the West Antarctic Peninsula
title_short Temporal controls on silicic acid utilisation along the West Antarctic Peninsula
title_sort temporal controls on silicic acid utilisation along the west antarctic peninsula
url https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/39908/
https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/39908/
https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/39908/