The biogeochemical role of a microbial biofilm in sea ice

Bibliographic Data

ID19568820
AuthorsArnout Roukaerts (0000-0002-3939-7119, Vrije Universiteit Brussel), Florian Deman (0000-0001-6647-7360, Vrije Universiteit Brussel), Fanny Van der Linden (0000-0002-2869-8477, Université Libre de Bruxelles), Gauthier Carnat (Université Libre de Bruxelles), Arne Bratkic (0000-0002-7810-1819, Vrije Universiteit Brussel), Sébastien Moreau (0000-0001-9446-812X, Norwegian Polar Institute), Delphine Lannuzel (0000-0001-6154-1837, University of Tasmania), Frank Dehairs (0000-0002-1878-841X, Vrije Universiteit Brussel), Bruno Delille (0000-0003-0502-8101, University of Liège), Jean-Louis Tison, Jean‐Louis Tison (0000-0002-9758-3454, Université Libre de Bruxelles), Francois Fripiat (0000-0002-2591-6301, Université Libre de Bruxelles)
Year2021
Volume9
Issue1
Publication date2021-06-14
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueElementa Science of the Anthropocene (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 2325-1026 • E-ISSN: 2325-1026
PublisherUniversity of California Press (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1525/elementa.2020.00134
OpenAlexW3177743930
LanguageEN
Citations received6
References cited54

A paradox is commonly observed in productive sea ice in which an accumulation in the macro-nutrients nitrate and phosphate coincides with an accumulation of autotrophic biomass. This paradox requires a new conceptual understanding of the biogeochemical processes operating in sea ice. In this study, we investigate this paradox using three time series in Antarctic landfast sea ice, in which massive algal blooms are reported (with particulate organic carbon concentrations up to 2,600 μmol L–1) and bulk nutrient concentrations exceed seawater values up to 3 times for nitrate and up to 19 times for phosphate. High-resolution sampling of the bottom 10 cm of the cores shows that high biomass concentrations coexist with high concentrations of nutrients at the subcentimeter scale. Applying a nutrient-phytoplankton-zooplankton-detritus model approach to this sea-ice system, we propose the presence of a microbial biofilm as a working hypothesis to resolve this paradox. By creating microenvironments with distinct biogeochemical dynamics, as well as favoring nutrient adsorption onto embedded decaying organic matter, a biofilm allows the accumulation of remineralization products (nutrients) in proximity to the sympagic (ice-associated) community. In addition to modifying the intrinsic physicochemical properties of the sea ice and providing a substrate for sympagic community attachment, the biofilm is suggested to play a key role in the flux of matter and energy in this environment

Autotroph · Biogeochemical cycle · Biology · Dissolved organic carbon · Ecosystem · Microbial population biology · Nitrate · Nutrient · Organic matter · Phytoplankton · Sea ice · Seawater · Chemistry · Environmental Science · Marine and coastal ecosystems · Methane Hydrates and Related Phenomena · Microbial Community Ecology and Physiology · Ecology · Environmental Chemistry · Geology · Oceanography

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