Sediment Properties and Benthic–Pelagic Coupling in the North Water
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Deep-Sea Research II 49 (2002) 5259–5275 Sediment properties and benthic–pelagic coupling in the North Water Jon Granta,*, Barry Hargravea,b, Paul MacPhersona a Department of Oceanography, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada B3H 4J1 b Department of Fisheries and Oceans, Marine Environmental Sciences Division, Bedford Institute of Oceanography, Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada B2Y 4A2 Received 11 November 2000; received in revised form 27 July 2001; accepted 29 October 2001 Abstract Measurements of sediment oxygen consumption were made during spring and summer in the North Water, the polynya that forms between Greenland and Ellesmere Island, and used in conjunction with sediment trap data to assess benthic–pelagic coupling in this system. Bottom sediments ranged from cobble in the north to soft muds in the southern part of the sampling grid. Muddy sediments were often pelletized as shown by disaggregation. Sediment photopigments were generally lower in coarse sediment stations to the north than in finer sediments stations to the south. Shipboard À2 À1 incubation of intact cores provided rates of 0.07–0.17 mmol O2 m h , with significantly greater oxygen consumption in summer than in spring. Additional incubation of macrofauna-free sediment aliquots in vials demonstrated significantly lower oxygen consumption in summer than in spring. Partitioning of benthic metabolism via these selective exclusion experiments showed a seasonal change in the response of the benthos to pelagic input, with meio-microbenthos dominating oxygen consumption in spring and macrofauna dominating in summer. Increased oxygen demand in the western polynya is suggested to coincide with the highest rates of carbon input measured by sediment traps and highest levels of sediment pigments. This region is an advective sink for particles produced in the east and subsequently transported by net polynya circulation. Although the benthos of the North Water does not display enhanced rates of carbon processing compared to other Arctic sediments, including other polynyas, the protracted production season of North Water provides a longer period over which the benthos can receive and mineralize organic carbon. Crown Copyright r 2002 Published by Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction as one of the major constraints on Arctic productivity, and represent an exceptional oppor- Polynyas are Arctic Ocean regions of reduced tunity to study food webs at high latitudes. Arctic ice cover that are characterized by seasonally benthic communities receive most of their annual intense biological activity at all trophic levels food input in brief seasonal pulses, likely enhanced (Stirling, 1997). Polynyas thus constitute a ‘natural by the aggregated sinking of epontic microalgae experiment,’ in terms of removing light limitation and eventually phytoplankton following ice melt (Bauerfeind et al., 1997; Hargrave et al., 2002; *Corresponding author. Tel.: +1-902-494-2021; fax: +1- Sampei et al., 2002). The protracted production 902-494-3877. season that occurs in polynya regions may be E-mail address: [email protected] (J. Grant). expected to elevate the role of the benthos in 0967-0645/02/$ - see front matter Crown Copyright r 2002 Published by Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved. PII: S 0967-0645(02)00189-3 5260 J. Grant et al. / Deep-Sea Research II 49 (2002) 5259–5275 sequestering organic carbon relative to other polar finally disappearing as the waters of Baffin Bay regions (Ambrose and Renaud, 1995). Alterna- become open in the summer. tively, a well-developed pelagic grazer food chain The International North Water Polynya Study and microbial loop in productive waters may (NOW) was a collaborative effort designed to reduce the potential for benthic input (Grebmeier study physical, chemical, and biological aspects of and Barry, 1991; Rowe et al., 1997). In addition, this polynya. Benthic studies were undertaken to the degree of benthic–pelagic coupling that occurs quantify the role of bottom communities and in polynyas serves as a model for scenarios in sediments in the mineralization of organic carbon which global warming reduces Arctic ice cover originating in the euphotic zone. The somewhat (Rowe et al., 1997). confined area of the polynya and depths o1000 m Previous studies of polynyas have demonstrated make the benthos a potentially important sink for seasonal progression in the types of particles carbon exported from the water column via sinking from the euphotic zone (cells, aggregates, sinking particles. We set out to pursue the fecal pellets, etc,) and the fate of enhanced following questions relevant to location, timing, production (Grebmeier and Cooper, 1995; Bauer- and trophic structure in the NOW polynya: fiend et al., 1997; Ritzrau and Thomsen, 1997; see Spatially: Does sediment oxygen consumption also Sampei et al., 2002). Seasonal changes in (SOC) follow a pattern determined by sediment benthic carbon demand have also been examined type and organic matter, circulation, and/or by the in the Northeast Water polynya (Rowe et al., pattern of primary production and carbon input 1997), but few studies allow assessment of the role from the water column? of polynyas in benthic trophodynamics compared Temporally: Does SOC reflect the transition to other Arctic ecosystems (Grebmeier and Barry, from ice cover to open water spring/summer 1991). Arctic benthos display a diverse range in conditions and the consequent change in carbon distribution of biomass and activity between input from ice algae to phytoplankton production? bacteria, microfauna, meiofauna, and macrofau- Trophically: What is the relative importance of na, related to factors such as grain size and organic macrofauna versus meio-microbial benthos in input (Piepenburg et al., 1995; Glud et al., 1998; their contribution to benthic oxygen demand? Kroncke. et al., 2000). We approached these questions by obtaining The North Water in northern Baffin Bay benthic samples at multiple stations in spring and between Greenland and Ellesmere Island is the summer and conducting shipboard incubations for largest polynya in the Canadian Arctic, occurring measurement of SOC. These results were then over 80,000 km2 at its maximal extent. It appears related to sediment properties as well as the results to be maintained largely as a latent heat polynya, of moored sediment trap studies conducted due to the steady winds from the north that simultaneously by Hargrave et al. (2002). transport recently formed ice along the Greenland coast (Ingram et al., 2002; Bacle# et al., 2002). The ice dam across the Nares Strait also plays a role in 2. Materials and methods reducing the southern drift of pack ice. Circulation in the polynya is driven by the boundary current 2.1. Study site north along the Greenland coast, and flow is topographically steered to the west in Smith Benthic sampling was conducted from the Sound. The southern-flowing Baffin current joins CCGS icebreaker Pierre Radisson in Smith Sound the flow from western Greenland to maintain a net and northern Baffin Bay during Leg 1 (April–May; counterclockwise transport in the polynya (Bacle# spring) and Leg 4 (July; summer) of the major field et al., 2002). The seasonal development of the effort in 1998. Stations were chosen to provide polynya follows a similar pattern, occurring as north–south and east–west transects in the poly- broken or thin ice off of western Greenland and nya (Fig. 1). A total of 12 stations were sampled expanding to the southwest through the spring, during Leg 1 and seven during Leg 4, with all J. Grant et al. / Deep-Sea Research II 49 (2002) 5259–5275 5261 Leg-4 locations having been visited during Leg 1. Table 1 Water-column depths ranged from 247 to 680 m, Benthic station location and depth during the 1998 NOW field with all stations except the most northerly, A7, study and easterly, S1, deeper than 400 m (Table 1). Ice Station Location (digital degrees) Depth range (m) cover was still present at many stations during Leg Latitude N, Longitude W 1, while during Leg 4 large areas of open water A7 78.99, 73.33 247–257 were interspersed with drifting pack ice. During N2 78.99, 73.33 517–579 Leg 4, various stations with coarse sediments E2 78.04, 73.27 450 sampled during Leg 1 were avoided to protect the A16 77.85, 74.79 680 box core from damage, resulting in incomplete A22 77.34, 76.48 420 E1 77.01, 72.63 400–532 overlap between legs for some variables. In some D2 77.00, 75.00 553–562 cases, coarse sediment was obtained for chemical S1 77.00, 75.00 259 and grain size analysis, but with insufficient S2 76.29, 72.03 563–570 quantities for core incubations. Station S4 was S4 76.28, 74.24 445–486 visited twice within 7 d during Leg 1, providing a S5 76.37, 77.28 307–370 D1 75.25, 74.95 480–499 measure of the short-term temporal variability that occurs in the polynya. Depth range refers to the variation in depths observed over multiple samples at the same general site. 2.2. Sampling Surface sediments (up to B40 cm) were sampled southern (D1) station outside of this region with a 0.25-m2 USNEL box core at ten stations (Fig. 1). Box-core samples had varying amounts within the polynya and at a northern (A7) and of overlying water due to the presence of rocks which affected closure of the blade. Box cores drained of water raise concerns about loss of 79.00 Kane Basin A7 surficial sediments. Our samples often contained Ellesmere epifauna and intact infaunal tubes, with no 78.50 Island Greenland n Nares Strait obvious disturbance of the sediment surface due N2 to retrieval. Sediment subsamples in general were 78.00 E2 obtained away from the edges of the box. A16 The surface of each box core was photographed 77.50 Smith Sound immediately with a digital camera.