Description: During the PS118 research cruise with the German research vessel RV POLARSTERN (Feb 2019- April 2019), sediments were collected with a multicorer from 7 stations along a 400 mile transect from the eastern shelf of the Antarctic Peninsula to the West of the South Orkney Islands. A total of 69 high-resolution O2 profiles were measured in 23 cores in the upper sediment layer using optical microsensors (Optodes, Pyroscience) in order to determine oxygen penetration depths and diffusive oxygen uptake (DOU). Pore-water samples were taken at depth resolutions of 1 cm from 0-10 cm and below 10 cm with a resolution of 2 cm down to a maximum depth of 30 cm. Sediments of parallel cores were cut at the same depth resolution for solid-phase contents. Pore-water analyses of trace element such as dissolved iron (DFe) and manganese (DMn), dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC), hydrogen sulfide (H2S) and nutrients such as ammonium (NH4+), phosphate (PO4³), nitrate (NO3-), nitrite (NO2-) and silicate (SiO3²−) were measured. For solid-phase analyses, freeze-dried and ground sediment samples were measured for TOC and TN. At 5 stations, Al, Fe, Mn, P and S content was measured after total acid digestion. At the same 5 stations, excess 210Pb was measured in freeze-dried and homogenized sediments.

Description: During the PS118 research cruise with the German research vessel RV POLARSTERN (Feb 2019- April 2019), sediments were collected with a multicorer from 7 stations along a 400 mile transect from the eastern shelf of the Antarctic Peninsula to the West of the South Orkney Islands. A total of 69 high-resolution O2 profiles were measured in 23 cores in the upper sediment layer using optical microsensors (Optodes, Pyroscience) in order to determine oxygen penetration depths and diffusive oxygen uptake (DOU). Pore-water samples were taken at depth resolutions of 1 cm from 0-10 cm and below 10 cm with a resolution of 2 cm down to a maximum depth of 30 cm. Sediments of parallel cores were cut at the same depth resolution for solid-phase contents. Pore-water analyses of trace element such as dissolved iron (DFe) and manganese (DMn), dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC), hydrogen sulfide (H2S) and nutrients such as ammonium (NH4+), phosphate (PO4³), nitrate (NO3-), nitrite (NO2-) and silicate (SiO3²−) were measured. For solid-phase analyses, freeze-dried and ground sediment samples were measured for TOC and TN. At 5 stations, Al, Fe, Mn, P and S content was measured after total acid digestion. At the same 5 stations, excess 210Pb was measured in freeze-dried and homogenized sediments.

Description: During the PS118 research cruise with the German research vessel RV POLARSTERN (Feb 2019- April 2019), sediments were collected with a multicorer from 7 stations along a 400 mile transect from the eastern shelf of the Antarctic Peninsula to the West of the South Orkney Islands. A total of 69 high-resolution O2 profiles were measured in 23 cores in the upper sediment layer using optical microsensors (Optodes, Pyroscience) in order to determine oxygen penetration depths and diffusive oxygen uptake (DOU). Pore-water samples were taken at depth resolutions of 1 cm from 0-10 cm and below 10 cm with a resolution of 2 cm down to a maximum depth of 30 cm. Sediments of parallel cores were cut at the same depth resolution for solid-phase contents. Pore-water analyses of trace element such as dissolved iron (DFe) and manganese (DMn), dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC), hydrogen sulfide (H2S) and nutrients such as ammonium (NH4+), phosphate (PO4³), nitrate (NO3-), nitrite (NO2-) and silicate (SiO3²−) were measured. For solid-phase analyses, freeze-dried and ground sediment samples were measured for TOC and TN. At 5 stations, Al, Fe, Mn, P and S content was measured after total acid digestion. At the same 5 stations, excess 210Pb was measured in freeze-dried and homogenized sediments.

Description: During the PS118 research cruise with the German research vessel RV POLARSTERN (Feb 2019- April 2019), sediments were collected with a multicorer from 7 stations along a 400 mile transect from the eastern shelf of the Antarctic Peninsula to the West of the South Orkney Islands. A total of 69 high-resolution O2 profiles were measured in 23 cores in the upper sediment layer using optical microsensors (Optodes, Pyroscience) in order to determine oxygen penetration depths and diffusive oxygen uptake (DOU). Pore-water samples were taken at depth resolutions of 1 cm from 0-10 cm and below 10 cm with a resolution of 2 cm down to a maximum depth of 30 cm. Sediments of parallel cores were cut at the same depth resolution for solid-phase contents. Pore-water analyses of trace element such as dissolved iron (DFe) and manganese (DMn), dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC), hydrogen sulfide (H2S) and nutrients such as ammonium (NH4+), phosphate (PO4³), nitrate (NO3-), nitrite (NO2-) and silicate (SiO3²−) were measured. For solid-phase analyses, freeze-dried and ground sediment samples were measured for TOC and TN. At 5 stations, Al, Fe, Mn, P and S content was measured after total acid digestion. At the same 5 stations, excess 210Pb was measured in freeze-dried and homogenized sediments.

Description: The Antarctic continental shelf represents roughly 11% of the world’s continental-shelf area and exhibits the highest area-based primary production rates in the Southern Ocean. On the shelf, primary production strongly varies depending on light conditions, sea ice cover, mixing depth and nutrient availability. In regions impacted by global warming, such as the Antarctic Peninsula, these conditions are changing. The retreat of sea ice and the availability of previously ice covered areas for marine primary production has important repercussions on nutrient and carbon fluxes. In this study, we investigated benthic remineralization processes along a cryopelagic productivity gradient from year-round heavy ice conditions through the marginal ice zone to mainly ice-free conditions at the Western shelf of the Weddell Sea (East Antarctic Peninsula). Carbon mineralization rates were derived from pore-water profiles of oxygen, nitrate, ammonium, dissolved manganese and dissolved iron. Pore water samples were obtained from sediment cores retrieved by multi-coring at water depths between 330 to 455 m. Two deep stations (3000 m depth) were sampled for comparison. While yearly sea ice cover decreased from 80 to 30% between the stations, benthic carbon oxidation rates increased from 1.0 to 7.6 mmol C m-2 d-1 and the total organic carbon contents ranged from 0.15 to 1.5 wt.%. The low rates at heavy ice covered shelf stations were comparable to those of deep sea stations further north. Carbon mineralization rates showed that aerobic respiration accounted for 60-95% of the total carbon degradation. Anaerobic degradation was dominated by denitrification and iron reduction at stations with high sea ice cover, while sulfate reduction was present only at stations with less sea ice cover. Pore water Fe2+ concentrations reached up to 50 μmol/L near the sediment surface and up to 670 μmol/L at about 4 cm depth, which can lead to a substantial release of Fe2+ to the water column and to a subsequent increase of the iron limited primary production. In summary, the results indicate that future sea ice retreat may lead to a significant increase of benthic carbon mineralization with a subsequent enhancement of the benthic iron efflux.

Description: Antarctic shelf regions are potential carbon and nutrient cycling hotspots where rapid climatic changes are projected to affect seasonal sea ice cover, water column stratification, and thus surface primary production and associated fluxes of organic carbon to the seafloor. Here, we report on surface sediment oxygen profiles and respective fluxes in combination with pore water profiles of dissolved iron (DFe) and phosphate (PO43-) from 7 stations along a 400 mile transect with variable sea ice cover and water column stratification from the East Antarctic Peninsula to the west of South Orkney Islands. Our results show that sea ice concentrations and stratification of the upper water column decreased across the transect. We defined a marginal sea ice index of 5-35% sea ice cover which was positively correlated with the benthic carbon mineralization rate. C-mineralization rates increased gradually between the heavy ice-covered station and the marginal sea ice stations from 1.1 to 7.3 mmol C m-2 d-1, respectively. The rates decreased again to 1.8 mmol C m-2 d-1 at the ice-free station, likely attributed to a deeper water column mixed layer depth, which decreases primary production and thus organic carbon export to the sediment. Iron cycling in the sediment was elevated at the marginal sea ice stations where Fe-reduction led to DFe fluxes in the pore water of up to 0.379 mmol DFe m-2 d-1, while moderate (0.068 mmol DFe m-2 d-1) and negligible fluxes were observed at ice-free and ice-covered stations, respectively. In pore waters, concentrations of DFe and PO43- were significantly correlated with almost identical flux ratios of 0.33 mol PO43- per mol DFe for most of the stations, indicating a strong control of the iron cycling on the phosphate release to the water column. The high benthic DFe and PO43- fluxes highlight the importance of sediments underlying the marginal ice zone as source for limiting nutrients to the shelf waters.

Description: Rapid and profound climatic and environmental changes have been predicted for the Antarctic Peninsula with so far unknown impact on the biogeochemistry of the continental shelves. In this study, we investigate benthic carbon sedimentation, remineralization and iron cycling using sediment cores retrieved on a 400 mile transect with contrasting sea ice conditions along the eastern shelf of the Antarctic Peninsula. Sediments at comparable water depths of 330-450 m showed sedimentation and remineralization rates of organic carbon, ranging from 2.5-13 and 1.8-7.2 mmol C m-2 d-1, respectively. Both rates were positively correlated with the occurrence of marginal sea ice conditions (5-35% ice cover) along the transect, suggesting a favorable influence of the corresponding light regime and water column stratification on algae growth and sedimentation rates. From south to north, the burial efficiency of organic carbon decreased from 58% to 27%, while bottom water temperatures increased from -1.9 to -0.1 °C. Net iron reduction rates, as estimated from pore-water profiles of dissolved iron, were significantly correlated with carbon degradation rates and contributed 0.7-1.2% to the total organic carbon remineralization. Tightly coupled phosphate-iron recycling was indicated by significant covariation of dissolved iron and phosphate concentrations, which almost consistently exhibited P/Fe flux ratios of 0.26. Iron efflux into bottom waters of 0.6-4.5 µmol Fe m-2 d-1 was estimated from an empirical model. Despite the deep shelf waters, a clear bentho-pelagic coupling is indicated, shaped by the extent and duration of marginal sea ice conditions during summer, and likely to be affected by future climate change.

Description: The area around the Antarctic Peninsula is projected to undergo rapid climatic changes affecting seasonal sea ice cover, water column stratification, terrestrial meltwater run-off, and related nutrient input and thus the conditions for primary production and organic carbon export. The impact of such environmental changes on benthic microbial communities is poorly understood. In this study, we investigated the impact of different sea ice cover and redox conditions on microbial community compositions from 7 different stations (330–450 m water depth) along a 400-mile transect from the eastern shelf of the Antarctic Peninsula to the west of the South Orkney Islands. Two deep stations (3000 m depth) were sampled for comparison. Samples were collected from 6 different intervals down to a depth of 16 cm. The diversity and composition of microbial communities were determined by 16S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) gene sequencing. Redox conditions in sediments with long ice-free periods showed that iron and sulfate reduction are dominant anaerobic pathways for carbon mineralization. In contrast, sediments at a heavily ice-covered station were dominated by the aerobic pathway, which accounted for 〉94 % of the total carbon degradation. Our results reveal that the microbial community composition at the station under heavy ice-cover differs significantly from stations under low ice-cover and tends to cluster separately, suggesting that sea ice cover is the main driver for changes in microbial community composition in the shelf sediments. Further, the frequency of marginal sea ice conditions (here defined as 5-35% sea ice cover) is significantly different between stations (p 0.001) and can explain 5 to 13% of the variation between microbial communities. The bacterial communities at stations under low ice-cover co-varied significantly with TOC content and porewater concentrations of ammonia, dissolved iron, and sulfide. This was reflected in the microbial community composition, where stations with low ice-cover were dominated by Desulfuromonadia, a taxon including many iron and sulfate reducers. At the station with heavy ice-cover, this class showed very low abundances. Our findings demonstrate that the benthic microbial composition and mediated-processes at various sites around the eastern Antarctic Peninsula are regulated by sea ice cover.

Description: The area around the Antarctic Peninsula (AP) is facing rapid climatic and environmental changes, with so far unknown impacts on the benthic microbial communities of the continental shelves. In this study, we investigated the impact of contrasting sea ice cover on microbial community compositions in surface sediments from five stations along the eastern shelf of the AP using 16S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) gene sequencing. Redox conditions in sediments with long ice-free periods are characterized by a prevailing ferruginous zone, whereas a comparatively broad upper oxic zone is present at the heavily ice-covered station. Low ice cover stations were highly dominated by microbial communities of Desulfobacterota (mostly Sva1033, Desulfobacteria, and Desulfobulbia), Myxococcota, and Sva0485, whereas Gammaproteobacteria, Alphaproteobacteria, Bacteroidota, and NB1-j prevail at the heavy ice cover station. In the ferruginous zone, Sva1033 was the dominant member of Desulfuromonadales for all stations and, along with eleven other taxa, showed significant positive correlations with dissolved Fe concentrations, suggesting a significant role in iron reduction or an ecological relationship with iron reducers. Our results indicate that sea ice cover and its effect on organic carbon fluxes are the major drivers for changes in benthic microbial communities, favoring potential iron reducers at stations with increased organic matter fluxes.