A simulated Antarctic fast ice ecosystem

Abstract

A simple two-dimensional model of first year sea ice structure and dynamics is coupled to a high resolution time-dependent model of microalgal growth in which simulated physiological reponses are determined by ambient temperature, spectral irradiance, nutrient concentration and salinity. Results indicate that land fast sea ice in McMurdo Sound can support a production rate of c0.5g C m-2d-1 under optimal conditions, 76% of which is associated with the platelet layer where rates of nutrient exchange are relatively high. -from Authors