Influence of timing of sea ice retreat on phytoplankton size during marginal ice zone bloom period on the Chukchi and Bering shelves

Abstract

The size structure and biomass of a phytoplankton community during the spring bloom period can affect the energy use of higher-trophic-level organisms through the predator-prey body size relationships. The timing of the sea ice retreat (TSR) also plays a crucial role in the seasonally ice-covered marine ecosystem, because it is tightly coupled with the timing of the spring bloom. Thus, it is important to monitor the temporal and spatial distributions of a phytoplankton community size structure. Prior to this study, an ocean colour algorithm was developed to derive phytoplankton size index L, which is defined as the ratio of chlorophyll/Emphasis (chl