Phytoplankton Composition and Photosynthetic Properties Associated with Water Masses in the George V Region of Antarctica

Columbia University, New York NY

Investigators

Abstract

The George V Coast (140 - 150 degrees E) is an understudied coastal region of Antarctica. This Small Grant for Exploratory Research adds a biological component to a project focusing on the shelf and bottom water formation along the coast. This research will determine basic information on the biological oceanography of the region and in particular, how its productivity is related to the local hydrographic fields. The specific goals are 1) to map the chlorophyll a distribution and the photosynthetic capacity of the phytoplankton of the regions, 2) to characterize the phytoplankton and microzooplankton populations in the region by direct microscopic analysis, and 3) to measure nitrate and silicate levels in the various water masses. These goals will provide information on to what extent biological production relates to regional water masses, on the biological nature of the local production and the association between function groups of plankon and the water masses of the region, and on the interaction between phytoplankton growth and nutrient draw-down. Results from the study can be used as the basis for more extensive hypotheses about the biological production and flux in the region and are likely to catalyze further research in the understudied Southern Ocean.