Articles | Volume 18, issue 1
https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-25-2021
https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-25-2021
Research article
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04 Jan 2021
Research article | Highlight paper |  | 04 Jan 2021

Southern Ocean Biogeochemical Argo detect under-ice phytoplankton growth before sea ice retreat

Mark Hague and Marcello Vichi

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Cited articles

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This paper examines the question of what causes the rapid spring growth of microscopic marine algae (phytoplankton) in the ice-covered ocean surrounding Antarctica. One prominent hypothesis proposes that the melting of sea ice is the primary cause, while our results suggest that this is only part of the explanation. In particular, we show that phytoplankton are able to start growing before the sea ice melts appreciably, much earlier than previously thought.
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