Primary production processes in ice-free waters of the Ross Sea (Antarctica) during the austral summer 1996

During austral summer 1996 (January 11–February 10) oceanographic studies were conducted in the ice-free waters of the Ross Sea within the framework of the Italian National Programme for Antarctic Research (PNRA). Thirty-eight hydrological stations within 72.5°–78.0°S and 164.5°E–175.0°W were sampled. Size-fractionated photosynthetic pigments were measured at all stations, primary production was evaluated at 24 stations, and P vs. E measurements were carried out at 3 or 4 depths at 18 stations. In the open Ross Sea, integrated chlorophyll a (Chla) concentrations were between 15 and 102 mg m−2 in the 0–100 m layer, and primary production was between 124 and 638 mgC m−2 d−1. Offshore waters were completely ice-free and the water column was only slightly stratified. However, phytoplankton biomass and production were relatively high wherever the Upper Mixed Layer (UML) was <30 m deep. Hydrographic characters and phytoplankton distribution varied remarkably along the coastal waters of Terra Nova Bay; during a late summer bloom, integrated primary production ranged between 620 and 2411 mgC m−2 d−1. The dimensional composition of phytoplankton communities and the Redfield ratio indicate that the Ross Sea was dominated by diatoms. The photosynthetic parameters measured suggest the importance of the depth and dynamics of the UML, where the integrated mean irradiance always exceeded the photosaturation index (Ek). However, occasionally different PmaxB and Ek were recorded even in apparently well-mixed water columns. The presence of turbulent cells in different layers of the photic zone or a weak wind-driven vertical mixing, which might induce different photosynthetic indexes, can thus be hypothesized. Simulated in situ primary production was well correlated with production calculated with the photosynthetic coefficients obtained from the P vs. E experiments. Our data could be used to construct models aimed at assessing primary production in the area studied.