Variations and relations between chlorophyll concentrations and physical-ecological processes near the West Antarctic Peninsula

The West Antarctic Peninsula(WAP)region is one of the most productive marine ecosystems in the Southern Ocean that support the food web for phytoplankton,krill spawning or recruitment and several krill consumers at higher-trophic level like penguins and Antarctic fur seals.Characterized by channels and islands,the complex topography of the WAP generates interconnected circulation patterns,strongly influencing vertical stratification,nutrient availability and distribution of marine organisms.Additionally,rapid climate change associated with major climate modes like the Southern Annular Mode(SAM)and El Niño-Southern Oscillation(ENSO)has significant effects on long-term variations of physical environments and biological production.The objective of this study is to reveal the spatial-temporal variations of phytoplankton biomass in the WAP region and the modulating physical-ecological processes.By using 9-year hydrographic and ecological data of five transects collected by the Palmer Long-Term Ecosystem Research,the horizontal and vertical distributions of several physical and ecological properties,with a particular focus on chlorophyll(Chl)concentration were explored.Regression analysis among area-averaged properties and properties at single stations was performed to reveal the relationship between the interannual variations of physical and ecological processes.The correlation results showed that Chl concentration exhibited a positive relationship with both the circumpolar deep water(CDW)intrusion and vertical stratification,but showed a negative correlation with SAM at some specific stations.However,certain processes or mechanisms may only be dominant for specific stations and not applicable to the entire region.No single physical or ecological factors have been found to significantly influence the Chl distribution throughout the WAP region,which may be attributed to the heterogeneity of sea ice conditions,geometry and hydrodynamic features as well as variations in nutrient sources.

A Study on Snowstorm Weather in Coastal Area of Western Antarctic

In this paper, based on the observational data of 1995 in the Chinese Antarctic Great Wall Station the snowstorm is studied synoptically. It is found that there are two kinds of snowstorms with different physical characteristics and that the happening of snowstorm is always accompanied by a near-ground level inversion layer. The function of the inversion layer is analyzed, too. It is indicated that the strong ESE-wind type snowstorm is mainly caused by katabatic wind and gradient wind together. This idea is new and different from the general concept that there is no katabatic wind in the western Antarctic area.