Abstract
Studies of the hydrochemical parameters of water in the northern part of the Weddell Sea were carried out in January and February 2020. The integral section from west to east of the study site shows spatial variability of the abiotic characteristics of the ecosystem: oxygen content, nutrients (dissolved phosphates, silicates, mineral forms of nitrogen), and parameters of the carbonate system (pH and total alkalinity). The average content of phosphates varied from 1.7 to 2.1μM, silicates from 66.5 to 119.5μM, and nitrates from 29 to 38μM. Water properties in the study were typical for the waters of the Weddell Sea, and five regions differing in the distribution of hydrochemical parameters were identified. In the west, we found the influence of waters from the Bransfield Strait; in the east, on the shelf of the South Orkney Islands, the upper layer of the water column was influenced by the waters of the southern front of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current. The exchange of waters through the Philip Passage was recorded mainly in the upper 500-m layer. In addition, the basin was influenced by the “ambient” high-latitude waters of the Weddell Sea. Significant variability in the concentrations of nutrients, especially phosphates, which is associated with the genesis of waters and the peculiarities of circulation is a peculiar feature of the basin.
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Acknowledgments
The work was carried out within the framework of the state assignment of the Shirshov Institute of Oceanology, RAS (No. 0128-2019-0008), state assignment of the Pacific Oceanological Institute, RAS (No. FWMM-2019-0007, state assignment, add. Agreement No. 075-03-2019-562 / 2 of August 30, 2019), and state assignment of the Marine Hydrophysical Institute, RAS (No. 0555-2019-0003). The authors express their gratitude to the captain and crew of the R/V “Akademik Mstislav Keldysh” (79th cruise), the head of the expedition Dr. E.G. Morozov for organizing the cruise, and D.I. Frey for providing hydrophysical data and sampling.
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Stepanova, S.V. et al. (2021). Hydrochemical Structure of Waters in the Northern Weddell Sea in Austral Summer 2020. In: Morozov, E.G., Flint, M.V., Spiridonov, V.A. (eds) Antarctic Peninsula Region of the Southern Ocean. Advances in Polar Ecology, vol 6. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-78927-5_11
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