Abstract
A strong front between cold and warm surface waters was found in the northwestern part of the Weddell Sea (Powell Basin) in February 2020. The front was manifested by sharp horizontal gradients of temperature, chemical, and optical properties. Differences in the concentrations and species of phytoplankton and zooplankton on both sides of the front were found. 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.
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Acknowledgments
The authors thank the crew of the R/V Akademik Mstislav Keldysh for their hard work and assistance to collect the new data in severe Antarctic conditions. This work was supported by the State Task no. 0128-2019-0008. Field works were partly supported by the RFBR grant no. 20-08-00246.
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Morozov, E.G. et al. (2021). Frontal Zone Between Relatively Warm and Cold Waters in the Northern Weddell Sea. In: Morozov, E.G., Flint, M.V., Spiridonov, V.A. (eds) Antarctic Peninsula Region of the Southern Ocean. Advances in Polar Ecology, vol 6. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-78927-5_3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-78927-5_3
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