Marine Ecosystem Research at the Weddell Sea Ice Edge: The AMERIEZ Program

Abstract

In the early 1980s it became evident that the ice edge in Antarctic waters could have a major impact on the region's trophic dynamics as well as on the global cycles of carbon dioxide and other biogenic elements. In 1981 a National Academy of Sciences report emphasized the critical need for research in biological oceanography in the Antarctic because of the great intrinsic interest in the region and its renewable and nonrenewable resources, and in particular research directed toward understanding the dynamics of the Antarctic ice edge and its role in the region's trophic dynamics. The AMERIEZ (Antarctic Marine Ecosystem Research at the Ice Edge Zone) Program was developed in response to this need. The AMERIEZ study has investigated two major questions: What are the mechanisms which result in enhanced productivity at all trophic levels within the marginal ice zone? Is the ice edge an ecological interface between two distinct biological communities, one associated with the open ocean and one with the pack ice, and what are the dynamics of these seasonal communities?