Variability of Nonionellina labradorica Dawson in Surface Sediments from Kongsfjorden,West Spitsbergen

Kongsfjorden is a fjord in Spitsbergen（Svalbard archipelago）that lies adjacent to both Arctic and Atlantic water masses and is therefore a suitable site to understand the effects of climate change on ecosystems.To decipher the effect of the lateral advection of transformed Atlantic water （TAW）within the fjord,spatial variations of foraminiferal tests,their test size variations and stable isotopic composition（δ^（13）C andδ^（18）O）in the surface sediments were studied.Total organic carbon and textural analyses were also carried out.The dominant benthic foraminifera included Nonionellina labradorica,Elphidium excavatum,Cassidulina reniforme,Quinqueloculina stalkeri and Islandiella islandica.Nonionellina labradorica was the predominant species in the outer fjord,whereas Elphidium excavatum and Cassidulina reniforme were dominant in the inner fjord.Total organic carbon and the test size of Nonionellina labradorica within the fjord were highly correlated（r=0.97）and both showed a decreasing trend towards the inner fjord.Based on the distribution and abundance of Nonionellina labradorica as well as temperature profiles,we suggest that there was little or no major change in the lateral advection of TAW within the fjord in the immediate past.

Phytoplankton abundance and community structure in the Antarctic polar frontal region during austral summer of 2009

The Antarctic polar front region in the Southern Ocean is known to be most productive. We studied the phytoplankton community structure in the Indian sector at this frontal location during late austral summer (February, 2009) onboard R/V Akademic Boris Petrov. We used the phytoplankton and microheterotrophs abundance, as also the associated physico-chemical parameters to explain the low phytoplankton abundance in the study region. This study emphasizes the shift of phytoplankton, from large (>10 μm) to small (<10 μm) size. The phytoplankton abundance appears to be controlled by physical parameters and by nutrient concentrations and also by the microheterotrophs (ciliates and dinoflagellates) which exert a strong grazing pressure. This probably reduces small (<10 μm) and large (>10 μm) phytoplankton abundance during the late austral summer. This study highlights the highly productive polar front nevertheless becomes a region of low phytoplankton abundance, due to community shifts towards pico-phytoplankton (<10 μm) during late austral summer.

Dynamics of sea-ice biogeochemistry in the coastal Antarctica during transition from summer to winter

The seasonality of carbon dioxide partial pressure （pC02）, air-sea CO2 fluxes and associated environ- mental parameters were investigated in the Antarctic coastal waters. The in-situ survey was carried out from the austral summer till the onset of winter （January 2012, February 2010 and March 2009） in the Enderby Basin. Rapid decrease in pCO2 was evident under the sea-ice cover in January, when both water column and sea-ice algal activity resulted in the removal of nutrients and dissolved inorganic carbon （DIC） and increase in pH. The major highlight of this study is the shift in the dominant biogeochemica/ factors from summer to early winter. Nutrient limitation （low Si/N）, sea-ice cover, low photosynthetically active radiation （PAR）, deep mixed layer and high upwelling velocity contributed towards higher pCO2 during March （early winter）. CO2 fluxes suggest that the Enderby Basin acts as a strong CO2 sink during January （-81 mmol m-2 d 1）, however it acts as a weak sink of CO2 with -2.4 and -1.7 mmol m 2 d-1 during February and March, respectively. The present work, concludes that sea ice plays a dual role towards climate change, by decreasing sea surface pCO2 in summer and enhancing in early winter. Our observations emphasize the need to address seasonal sea-ice driven CO2 flux dynamics in assessing Antarctic contributions to the global oceanic CO2 budget.