Description: The Southern Ocean is the most important area of anthropogenic carbon (Cant) uptake in the world ocean, only rivalled in importance by the North Atlantic Ocean. Significant variability on decadal time-scales in the uptake of Cant in the Southern Ocean has been observed and modelled, likely with consequences for the interior ocean storage of Cant in the region, and implications for the global carbon budget. Here we use eight cruises between 1973 and 2012 to assess decadal variability in Cant storage rates in the southeast Atlantic sector of the Southern Ocean. For this we employed the extended multiple linear regression (eMLR) method. We relate variability in DIC (dissolved inorganic carbon) storage, which is assumed to equal anthropogenic carbon storage, to changes in ventilation as observed from repeat measurements of transient tracers. Within the Antarctic Intermediate Water (AAIW) layer, which is the dominant transport conduit for Cant into the interior ocean, moderate Cant storage rates were found without any clear temporal trend. In Subantarctic Mode Water (SAMW), a less dense water mass found north of the Subantarctic Front and above AAIW, high storage rates of Cant were observed up to about 2005 but lower rates in more recent times. The transient tracer data suggest a significant speed-up of ventilation in the summer warmed upper part of AAIW between 1998 and 2012, which is consistent with the high storage rate of Cant. A shift of more northern Cant storage to more southern storage in near surface waters was detected in the early 2000s. Beneath the AAIW the eMLR method as applied here did not detect significant storage of Cant. However, the presence of the transient tracer CFC-12 all through the water column suggests that some Cant should be present, but at concentrations not reliably quantifiable. The observed temporal variability in the interior ocean seems at a first glance to be out of phase with observed surface ocean Cant fluxes, but this can be explained by the time delay for the surface ocean signal to manifest itself in the interior of the ocean.

Description: Vertical distributions of iron and iron binding ligands were determined in 2 size classes (dissolved 〈 0.2 μm, soluble 〈 200 kDa, e.g., ~ 0.03 μm) in the Southern Ocean. Colloidal iron and complexing capacity (〉 200 kDa–〈 0.2 μm) were inferred as the difference between the dissolved and soluble fractions. Dissolved iron and ligands exist primarily in the soluble size range in the surface waters, although iron-complexing colloids still represent a significant portion of the dissolved pool and this fraction increases markedly with depth. This work presents evidence for the colloidal nature of a significant portion (37–51% on average) of the ‘dissolved’ organic Fe pool in these oceanic waters. From the data it was not possible to discern whether iron colloids exist as discrete organic complexes and/or inorganic amorphous colloids. Iron-complexing colloids are the most saturated with iron at the thermodynamic equilibrium, whereas soluble organic ligands occur in larger excess compared to soluble iron. It suggests that the exchangeable fraction for iron uptake through dissociation of Fe complexes likely occurs in the soluble fraction, and that soluble ligands have the potential to buffer iron inputs to surface waters whereas iron colloids may aggregate and settle. Expectations based on Fe diffusion rates, distributions and the stability of the soluble iron complexes and iron colloids also suggest that the weaker soluble Fe complexes may be more bio-available, while the strongest colloids may be a major route for iron removal from oceanic waters. Investigations of the size classes of the dissolved organic iron thus can significantly increase our understanding of the oceanic iron cycle.

Description: Fertilization of the ocean by adding iron compounds has induced diatom-dominated phytoplankton blooms accompanied by considerable carbon dioxide drawdown in the ocean surface layer. However, because the fate of bloom biomass could not be adequately resolved in these experiments, the timescales of carbon sequestration from the atmosphere are uncertain. Here we report the results of a five-week experiment carried out in the closed core of a vertically coherent, mesoscale eddy of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current, during which we tracked sinking particles from the surface to the deep-sea floor. A large diatom bloom peaked in the fourth week after fertilization. This was followed by mass mortality of several diatom species that formed rapidly sinking, mucilaginous aggregates of entangled cells and chains. Taken together, multiple lines of evidence—although each with important uncertainties—lead us to conclude that at least half the bloom biomass sank far below a depth of 1,000 metres and that a substantial portion is likely to have reached the sea floor. Thus, iron-fertilized diatom blooms may sequester carbon for timescales of centuries in ocean bottom water and for longer in the sediments.

Description: Surface delta(15)N(PON) increased 3.92 +/- 0.48 over the course of 20 days following additions of iron (Fe) to an eddy in close proximity to the Antarctic Polar Front in the Atlantic sector of the Southern Ocean. The change in delta(15)N(PON) was associated with an increase in the 〉20 mu m size fraction, leading to a maximal difference of 6.23 between the 〉20 mu m and 〈20 mu m size fractions. Surface delta(13)C(POC) increased 1.18 +/- 0.31 over the same period. After a decrease in particulate organic matter in the surface layer, a second phytoplankton community developed that accumulated less biomass, had a slower growth rate and was characterized by an offset of 1.56 in delta(13)C(POC) relative to the first community. During growth of the second community, surface delta(13)C(POC) further increased 0.83 +/- 0.13. Here we speculate on ways that carboxylation, nitrogen assimilation, substrate pool enrichment and community composition may have contributed to the gradual increase in delta(13)C(POC) associated with phytoplankton biomass accumulation, as well as the systematic offset in delta(13)C(POC) between the two phytoplankton communities.

Description: The influence of eddy structures on the seasonal depletion of dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) and carbon dioxide (CO2) disequilibrium was investigated during a trans-Atlantic crossing of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC) in austral summer 2012. The Georgia Basin, downstream of the island of South Georgia (54-55°S, 36-38°W) is a highly dynamic region due to the mesoscale activity associated with the flow of the Subantarctic Front (SAF) and Polar Front (PF). Satellite sea-surface height and chlorophyll-a anomalies revealed a cyclonic cold core that dominated the northern Georgia Basin that was formed from a large meander of the PF. Warmer waters influenced by the SAF formed a smaller anticyclonic structure to the east of the basin. Both the cold core and warm core eddy structures were hotspots of carbon uptake relative to the rest of the ACC section during austral summer. This was most amplified in the cold core where greatest CO2 undersaturation (−78 μatm) and substantial surface ocean DIC deficit (5.1 mol m−2) occurred. In the presence of high wind speeds, the cold core eddy acted as a strong sink for atmospheric CO2 of 25.5 mmol m−2 day−1. Waters of the warm core displayed characteristics of the Polar Frontal Zone (PFZ), with warmer upper ocean waters and enhanced CO2 undersaturation (−59 μatm) and depletion of DIC (4.9mol m−2). A proposed mechanism for the enhanced carbon uptake across both eddy structures is based on the Ekman eddy pumping theory: (i) the cold core is seeded with productive (high chlorophyll-a) waters from the Antarctic Zone and sustained biological productivity through upwelled nutrient supply that counteracts DIC inputs from deep waters; (ii) horizontal entrainment of low-DIC surface waters (biological uptake) from the PFZ downwell within the warm core and cause relative DIC-depletion in the upper water column. The observations suggest that the formation and northward propagation of cold core eddies in the region of the PF could project low-DIC waters towards the site of Antarctic Intermediate Water formation and enhance CO2 drawdown into the deep ocean.

Description: Measurements of Fe(II) and H2O2 were carried out in the Atlantic sector of the Southern Ocean during EisenEx, an iron enrichment experiment. Iron was added on three separate occasions, approximately every 8 days, as a ferrous sulfate (FeSO4) solution. Vertical profiles of Fe(II) showed maxima consistent with the plume of the iron infusion. While H2O2 profiles revealed a corresponding minima showing the effect of oxidation of Fe(II) by H2O2, observations showed detectable Fe(II) concentrations existed for up to 8 days after an iron infusion. H2O2 concentrations increased at the depth of the chlorophyll maximum when iron concentrations returned to pre-infusion concentrations (〈80 pM) possibly due to biological production related to iron reductase activity. In this work, Fe(II) and dissolved iron were used as tracers themselves for subsequent iron infusions when no further SF6 was added. EisenEx was subject to periods of weak and strong mixing. Slow mixing after the second infusion allowed significant concentrations of Fe(II) and Fe to exist for several days. During this time, dissolved and total iron in the infusion plume behaved almost conservatively as it was trapped between a relict mixed layer and a new rain-induced mixed layer. Using dissolved iron, a value for the vertical diffusion coefficient Kz = 6.7±0.7 cm2 s−1 was obtained for this 2-day period. During a subsequent surface survey of the iron-enriched patch, elevated levels of Fe(II) were found in surface waters presumably from Fe(II) dissolved in the rainwater that was falling at this time. Model results suggest that the reaction between uncomplexed Fe(III) and O2− was a significant source of Fe(II) during EisenEx and helped to maintain high levels of Fe(II) in the water column. This phenomenon may occur in iron enrichment experiments when two conditions are met: (i) When Fe is added to a system already saturated with regard to organic complexation and (ii) when mixing processes are slow, thereby reducing the dispersion of iron into under-saturated waters.

Description: In the early 1980s, Germany started a new era of modern Antarctic research. The Alfred Wegener Institute Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research (AWI) was founded and important research platforms such as the German permanent station in Antarctica, today called Neumayer III, and the research icebreaker Polarstern were installed. The research primarily focused on the Atlantic sector of the Southern Ocean. In parallel, the German Research Foundation (Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, DFG) started a priority program ‘Antarctic Research’ (since 2003 called SPP-1158) to foster and intensify the cooperation between scientists from different German universities and the AWI as well as other institutes involved in polar research. Here, we review the main findings in meteorology and oceanography of the last decade, funded by the priority program. The paper presents field observations and modelling efforts, extending from the stratosphere to the deep ocean. The research spans a large range of temporal and spatial scales, including the interaction of both climate components. In particular, radiative processes, the interaction of the changing ozone layer with large-scale atmospheric circulations, and changes in the sea ice cover are discussed. Climate and weather forecast models provide an insight into the water cycle and the climate change signals associated with synoptic cyclones. Investigations of the atmospheric boundary layer focus on the interaction between atmosphere, sea ice and ocean in the vicinity of polynyas and leads. The chapters dedicated to polar oceanography review the interaction between the ocean and ice shelves with regard to the freshwater input and discuss the changes in water mass characteristics, ventilation and formation rates, crucial for the deepest limb of the global, climate-relevant meridional overturning circulation. They also highlight the associated storage of anthropogenic carbon as well as the cycling of carbon, nutrients and trace metals in the ocean with special emphasis on the Weddell Sea.