The Southern Annular Mode (SAM) influences phytoplankton communities in the seasonal ice zone of the Southern Ocean

Greaves, Bruce L.; Davidson, Andrew T.; Fraser, Alexander D.; McKinlay, John P.; Martin, Andrew; McMinn, Andrew; Wright, Simon W.

doi:https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-3815-2020

Articles | Volume 17, issue 14

https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-3815-2020

© Author(s) 2020. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-3815-2020

© Author(s) 2020. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Articles | Volume 17, issue 14

Research article

|

23 Jul 2020

Research article |

| 23 Jul 2020

The Southern Annular Mode (SAM) influences phytoplankton communities in the seasonal ice zone of the Southern Ocean

Bruce L. Greaves, Andrew T. Davidson, Alexander D. Fraser, John P. McKinlay, Andrew Martin, Andrew McMinn, and Simon W. Wright

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https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-3815-2020-supplement

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The Southern Annular Mode (SAM) influences phytoplankton communities in the seasonal ice zone of the Southern Ocean B. L. Greaves, A. T. Davidson, and A. D. Fraser https://doi.org/10.26179/5d9181f7308bd

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Short summary

We observed that variation in the Southern Annular Mode (SAM) over 11 years showed a relationship with the species composition of hard-shelled phytoplankton in the seasonal ice zone (SIZ) of the Southern Ocean. Phytoplankton in the SIZ are productive during the southern spring and summer when the area is ice-free, with production feeding most Antarctic life. The SAM is known to be increasing with climate change, and changes in phytoplankton in the SIZ may have implications for higher life forms.