COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: SUBMARINE GROUNDWATER AND FRESHWATER INPUTS ALONG THE WESTERN ANTARCTIC PENINSULA Grant uri icon

abstract

  • The Western Antarctic Peninsula (WAP) has been recognized as one of the fastest warming locations on the planet (e.g. Steig et al., 2009). The warming is altering air temperatures, sea ice, glacier melt, and food web dynamics. Two important factors influencing primary production and ultimately food web dynamics are iron concentrations in surface waters and freshwater inputs from glaciers and sea ice melting. Iron has been identified as a limiting nutrient in many areas of the Southern Ocean and along the Antarctic Peninsula (Boyd et al., 2000). Increased productivity is fueled by natural iron inputs from upwelling and possibly derived from sediments (Korb et al., 2008; Planquette et al., 2007; Ardelan et al., 2010). If iron enrichment increases productivity and carbon sequestration, then it is important to identify the sources of iron input, such as glacial meltwaters contributing to runoff and subsurface flow in nearshore environments, and determine how these will change in the future. The overall objective of this study is to evaluate the contribution of submarine groundwater discharge (SGD) to iron and nutrient loads in nearshore environments of the WAP and to compare this flux to glacial meltwater sources. Can glacial melt impact the hydrological cycle and contribute to discharge, increasing iron and nutrient fluxes along the WAP? SGD and freshwater subsurface flow have not been considered as a source for nutrients and iron to coastal waters in the WAP. These sources may increase with warming trends, glacial and sea-ice retreat as the potential for subsurface flow and water/sediment-rock interaction increases.

date/time interval

  • March 2012 - July 2016