Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Mesoscale Variability of the Ocean in the Northern Part of the Weddell Sea

  • MARINE PHYSICS
  • Published:
Oceanology Aims and scope

Abstract

Results of a mesoscale survey in the Powell Basin in the northern part of the Weddell Sea are analyzed. The survey included 24 CTD casts (6 × 4) with an interval of six nautical miles. Measurements of water transparency, fluorescence, and plankton catches using the Bongo and Jedy nets were performed. The survey covered a region of an oceanographic front. The front is manifested by sharp horizontal gradients of temperature and chemical properties. The front exists due to the differences in the water properties typical for the entire Weddell Sea and water from the western part of the sea, which is formed in a shallow region covered with ice and icebergs that prevent warming of the upper layer of water by the solar irradiance. The front in the region of the mesoscale survey appears due to the separation of meanders from the large-scale front in the northern part of the Weddell Sea and displacement of the ring with cold water from the bottom elevation to the region of the survey. The differences in the water structures north and south of the front are also pronounced in chemical properties, optical characteristics of the upper layer, and different concentrations and species of phytoplankton, zooplankton, and pelagic fish.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1.
Fig. 2.
Fig. 3.
Fig. 4.
Fig. 5.
Fig. 6.
Fig. 7.
Fig. 8.
Fig. 9.
Fig. 10.
Fig. 11.
Fig. 12.
Fig. 13.
Fig. 14.
Fig. 15.
Fig. 16.
Fig. 17.

Similar content being viewed by others

REFERENCES

  1. N. V. Arzhanova and K. V. Artamonova, “Hydrochemical structure of waters in the fishery areas of Antarctic krill Euphausia superba Dana,” Tr. VNIRO 152, 118–132 (2014).

    Google Scholar 

  2. A. L. Berestov, Yu. A. Ivanov, V. G. Kort, M. N. Koshlyakov, E. G. Morozov, K. V. Moroshin, I. M. Ovchinnikov, I. F. Shadrin, S. M. Shapovalov, A. D. Shcherbinin, and M. I. Yaremchuk, “Mesoscale eddies of the upper layer of the ocean,” Okeanologiya (Moscow) 27, 889–895 (1987).

    Google Scholar 

  3. M. A. Bogdanov, S. G. Oradovskii, E. V. Solyankin, and N. V. Khvatskii, “The frontal zone in the Scotia Sea,” Okeanologiya (Moscow) 11, 966–974 (1969).

    Google Scholar 

  4. Yu. A. Ivanov, A. Yu. Krasnopevtsev, E. G. Morozov, I. F. Shadrin, and A. D. Shcherbinin, “A cyclonic frontal eddy in the Antarctic Circumpolar Current,” Okeanology (Engl. Transl) 25, 22–25 (1985).

  5. V. M. Kamenkovich, M. N. Koshlyakov, and A. S. Monin, Synoptic Eddies in the Ocean (Gidrometeoizdat, Leningrad, 1982; Springer-Verlag, Dordrecht, 1986)

  6. V. V. Klepikov, “Hydrology of the Weddell Sea,” Tr. Sov. Antarkt. Eksp. 17, 45–93 (1963).

    Google Scholar 

  7. M. N. Koshlyakov, “Discovery and investigations of open ocean synoptic eddies,” Izv., Atmos. Ocean. Phys. 38, 682–694 (2008).

    Google Scholar 

  8. S. B. Kuklev, V. A. Silkin, V. K. Chasovnikov, A. G. Zatsepin, L. A. Pautova, O. I. Podymov, V. I. Baranov, O. N. Kukleva, A. V. Fedorov, and A. V. Lifanchuk, “The influence of a submesoscale eddy on the spatial distribution of hydrochemical parameters and structural-functional characteristics of phytoplankton in the shelf zone of the Black Sea,” Ekol. Gidrosfery, No. 1, 24–40 (2019). http://hydrosphere-ecology.ru/139

  9. Yu. V. Makerov, “Hydrological features of Antarctic waters,” in Antarctica (Gidrometeoizdat, Leningrad, 1956), pp. 16–34.

    Google Scholar 

  10. E. G. Morozov, S. V. Nikitin, and S. M. Shapovalov, “Analysis of mesoscale variability according to the buoy stations in the New Zealand area of the Southern Ocean,” Okeanol. Issled., No. 39, 53–64 (1985).

  11. E. G. Morozov, E. N. Pelinovskii, and T. G. Talipova, “Exceedance frequency for internal waves during the Mesopolygon-85 experiment in the Atlantic,” Oceanology (Engl. Transl.) 38, 521–527 (1998).

  12. E. G. Morozov and V. G. Neiman, “Spectral characteristics of mesoscale variability of the bottom currents in the Ocean,” Dokl. Earth Sci. 471, 1164–1167 (2016).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  13. O. A. Anisimov, D. G. Vaughan, T. V. Callaghan, C. Furgal, et al., “Polar regions (Arctic and Antarctic),” in Climate Change 2007: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability. Contribution of Working Group II to the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Ed. by M. L. Parry, O. F. Canziani, J. P. Palutikof, P. J. van der Linden, and C. E. Hanson, (Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 2007), pp. 653–685.

    Google Scholar 

  14. A. O. Cefarelli, M. E. Ferrario, G. O. Almandoz, A. G. Atencio, R. Akselman, and M. Vernet, “Diversity of the diatom genus Fragilariopsis in the Argentine Sea and Antarctic waters: morphology, distribution and abundance,” Polar Biol. 33, 1463–1484 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-010-0794-z

    Article  Google Scholar 

  15. H. Christiansen, A. Dettai, F. M. Heindler, M. A. Collins, G. Duhamel, M. Hautecoeur, D. Steinke, F. A. M. Volckaert, and A. P. van de Putte, “Diversity of mesopelagic fishes in the Southern Ocean—A phylogeographic perspective using DNA barcoding,” Front. Ecol. Evol. 6, 1–19 (2018).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  16. K. R. Clarke and R. N. Gorley, PRIMER: Getting Started with V. 6 (PRIMER-E, Plymouth, 2005.

    Google Scholar 

  17. E. V. Dafner and N. V. Mordasova, “Influence of biotic factors on the hydrochemical structure of surface water in the Polar Frontal Zone of the Atlantic Antarctic,” Mar. Chem. 45 (1–2), 137–148 (1994).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  18. L. E. Delgado, R. Jana, and V. H. Marin, “Testing hypotheses on life-cycle models for Antarctic calanoid copepods, using qualitative, winter, zooplankton samples,” Polar Biol. 20, 74–76 (1998). https://doi.org/10.1007/s003000050278

    Article  Google Scholar 

  19. M. A. Doblin, et al., “Nutrient uplift in a cyclonic eddy increases diversity, primary productivity and iron demand of microbial communities relative to a western boundary current,” PeerJ 2016 (4), (2016). https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.1973

  20. R. M. Driscoll, C. S. Reiss, and B. T. Hentschel, “Temperature-dependent growth of Thysanoessa macrura: inter-annual and spatial variability around Elephant Island, Antarctica,” Mar. Ecol.: Prog. Ser. 529, 49–61 (2015).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  21. G. D. Egbert and S. Y. Erofeeva, “Efficient inverse modeling of barotropic ocean tides,” J. Atmos. Ocean. Technol. 19 (2), 183–204 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1175/1520-0426(2002)019<0183:EIMOBO>2.0.CO;2

    Article  Google Scholar 

  22. M. J. Ellwood, et al., “Distinct iron cycling in a Southern Ocean eddy,” Nat. Commun. 11, 825 (2020).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  23. E. Fahrbach, G. Rohardt, N. Scheele, M. Schriider, V. Strass, and A. Wisotzki, “Formation and discharge of deep and bottom water in the northwestern Weddell Sea,” J. Mar. Res. 53, 515–538 (1995).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  24. H. Flores, A. Atkinson, S. Kawaguchi, B. A. Krafft, G. Milinevsky, S. Nicol, et al., “Impact of climate change on Antarctic krill,” Mar. Ecol.: Prog. Ser. 458, 1–19 (2012). https://doi.org/10.3354/meps09831

    Article  Google Scholar 

  25. B. A. Foster, “Time and depth comparisons of sub-ice zooplankton in McMurdo Sound, Antarctica,” Polar Biol. 9, 431–435 (1989).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  26. H. G. Fransz, “Vernal abundance, structure and development of epipelagic copepod populations of the eastern Weddell Sea (Antarctica),” Polar Biol. 9, 107–114 (1988).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  27. G. Hempel, “Antarctic marine food web,” in Antarctic Nutrient Cycles and Food Webs, Ed. by W. R. Siegfried, P. R. Condy, and R. M. Laws (Springer-Verlag, Berlin, 1985), pp. 266–270.

    Google Scholar 

  28. C. D. Hewes, C. S. Reiss, and O. Holm-Hansen, “A quantitative analysis of sources for summertime phytoplankton variability over 18 years in the South Shetland Islands (Antarctica) region,” Deep-Sea Res. 56, 1230–1241 (2009).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  29. S.-H. Kang and G. A. Fryxell, “Phytoplankton in the Weddell Sea, Antarctica: composition, abundance and distribution in water-column assemblages of the marginal ice-edge zone during austral autumn,” Mar. Biol. 116, 335–348 (1993).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  30. S.-H. Kang, G. A. Fryxell, and D. L. Roelke, “Fragilariopsis cylindrus compared with other species of the diatom family Bacillariaceae in Antarctic marginal ice-edge zones,” Nova Hedwigia 106, 335–352 (1993).

    Google Scholar 

  31. W. Lee, S. Kim, S. Kang, H. Bang, K. Lee, and I. Kwak, “Distribution and abundance of zooplankton in the Bransfield Strait and the western Weddell Sea during austral summer,” Ocean Polar Res. 26 (4), 607–618 (2004). https://doi.org/10.4217/OPR.2004.26.4.607

    Article  Google Scholar 

  32. V. J. Loeb and J. A. Santora, “Population dynamics of Salpa thompsoni near the Antarctic Peninsula: growth rates and interannual variations in reproductive activity (1993–2009),” Prog. Oceanogr. 96 (1), 93–107 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pocean.2011.11.001

    Article  Google Scholar 

  33. N. Lundholm and H. G. Rytter, “Are Fragilariopsis cylindrus and Fragilariopsis nana bipolar diatoms? Morphological and molecular analyses of two sympatric species,” Nova Hedwigia 133, 231–250 (2008).

    Google Scholar 

  34. H. B. Mann and D. R. Whitney, “On a test of whether one of two random variables is stochastically larger than the other,” Ann. Math. Stat. 18, 50–60 (1947).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  35. G. Martin, M. G. White, and U. Piatkowski, “Abundance, horizontal and vertical distribution of fish in eastern Weddell Sea micronekton,” Polar Biol. 13, 41–53 (1992).

    Google Scholar 

  36. N. Maximenko and T. Yamagata, “Submesoscale anomalies in the North Pacific Subarctic Front,” J. Geophys. Res.: Oceans 100 (9), 18459–18469 (1995).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  37. M. L. Parker, W. R. Fraser, J. Ashford, T. Patarnello, L. Zane, and J. J. Torres, “Assemblages of micronektonic fishes and invertebrates in a gradient of regional warming along the Western Antarctic Peninsula,” J. Mar. Syst. 152, 18–41 (2015).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  38. S. L. Patterson and H. A. Sievers, “The Weddell-Scotia confluence,” J. Phys. Oceanogr. 10 (10), 1584–1610 (1980).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  39. V. V. Sapozhnikov, O. S. Ivanova, and N. V. Mordasova, “Identification of local upwelling zones in the Bering Sea using hydrochemical parameters,” Oceanology (Engl. Transl.) 51, 247–254 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1134/S0001437011020135

  40. I. R. Schloss, G. A. Ferreyra, and D. Ruiz-Pino, “Phytoplankton biomass in Antarctic shelf zones: a conceptual model based on Potter Cove, King George Island,” J. Mar. Syst. 36, 129–143 (2002).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  41. V. Siegel and J. L. Watkins, “Distribution, biomass and demography of Antarctic krill, Euphausia superba,” in Biology and Ecology of Antarctic Krill, Adv. Polar Ecol. Ser., Ed. by V. Siegel V. (Springer-Verlag, New York, 2016), pp. 21–100. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-29279-3_2

  42. I. Sprong and P. H. Schalk, “Acoustic observations on krill spring-summer migration and patchiness in the northern Weddell Sea,” in Weddell Sea Ecology, Ed. by G. Hempel (Springer-Verlag, New York, 1992), pp. 261–268. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-77595-6_30

    Book  Google Scholar 

  43. S. E. Stammerjohn, D. G. Martinson, R. C. Smith, X. Yuan, and D. Rind, “Trends in Antarctic annual sea ice retreat and advance and their relation to El Nino-Southern Oscillation and Southern Annular Mode variability,” J. Geophys. Res.: Oceans 113, C03S90 (2008).

    Google Scholar 

  44. N. M. Voronina, “Comparative abundance and distribution of major filter-feeders in the Antarctic pelagic zone,” J. Mar. Syst. 17 (1–4), 375–390 (1998). https://doi.org/10.1016/S0924-7963(98)00050-5

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Funding

This work was supported by state order no. 0128-2019-0008. Analysis of CTD data was supported by the Russian Science Foundation, grant no. 16-17-10 149). Computations were supported by the Russian Foundation for Basic Research, grant no. 19-57-60 001.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Shirshov Institute of Oceanology, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia

    E. G. Morozov, D. I. Frey, A. A. Polukhin, V. A. Krechik, V. A. Artemiev, A. V. Gavrikov, F. V. Sapozhnikov, N. V. Gordeeva & S. G. Kobylyansky

  2. A.V. Zhirmunsky National Scientific Center of Marine Biology, Far East Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences, Vladivostok, Russia

    V. V. Kasian

Authors
  1. E. G. Morozov
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. D. I. Frey
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. A. A. Polukhin
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. V. A. Krechik
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. V. A. Artemiev
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. A. V. Gavrikov
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  7. V. V. Kasian
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  8. F. V. Sapozhnikov
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  9. N. V. Gordeeva
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  10. S. G. Kobylyansky
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to E. G. Morozov.

Additional information

Translated by E. Morozov

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Morozov, E.G., Frey, D.I., Polukhin, A.A. et al. Mesoscale Variability of the Ocean in the Northern Part of the Weddell Sea. Oceanology 60, 573–588 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1134/S0001437020050173

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1134/S0001437020050173

Keywords:

Search

Navigation