Methods for biogeochemical studies of sea ice
The state of the art, caveats, and recommendations
Bibliographic Data
Over the past two decades, with recognition that the ocean’s sea-ice cover is neither insensitive to climate change nor a barrier to light and matter, research in sea-ice biogeochemistry has accelerated significantly, bringing together a multi-disciplinary community from a variety of fields. This disciplinary diversity has contributed a wide range of methodological techniques and approaches to sea-ice studies, complicating comparisons of the results and the development of conceptual and numerical models to describe the important biogeochemical processes occurring in sea ice. Almost all chemical elements, compounds, and biogeochemical processes relevant to Earth system science are measured in sea ice, with published methods available for determining biomass, pigments, net community production, primary production, bacterial activity, macronutrients, numerous natural and anthropogenic organic compounds, trace elements, reactive and inert gases, sulfur species, the carbon dioxide system parameters, stable isotopes, and water-ice-atmosphere fluxes of gases, liquids, and solids. For most of these measurements, multiple sampling and processing techniques are available, but to date there has been little intercomparison or intercalibration between methods. In addition, researchers collect different types of ancillary data and document their samples differently, further confounding comparisons between studies. These problems are compounded by the heterogeneity of sea ice, in which even adjacent cores can have dramatically different biogeochemical compositions. We recommend that, in future investigations, researchers design their programs based on nested sampling patterns, collect a core suite of ancillary measurements, and employ a standard approach for sample identification and documentation. In addition, intercalibration exercises are most critically needed for measurements of biomass, primary production, nutrients, dissolved and particulate organic matter (including exopolymers), the CO2 system, air-ice gas fluxes, and aerosol production. We also encourage the development of in situ probes robust enough for long-term deployment in sea ice, particularly for biological parameters, the CO2 system, and other gases
Biogeochemical cycle · Biogeochemistry · Earth science · Earth system science · Sea ice · Arctic and Antarctic ice dynamics · Chemistry · Climate change and permafrost · Environmental Science · Methane Hydrates and Related Phenomena · Environmental Chemistry · Geology · Oceanography
What sea-ice biogeochemical modellers need from observers
Upward transport of bottom-ice dimethyl sulfide during advanced melting of arctic first-year sea ice
A novel probe to sample dissolved and particulate matter in sea ice at high vertical resolution
Environmental factors influencing the seasonal dynamics of spring algal blooms in and beneath sea ice in western Baffin Bay
Stress factors resulting from the Arctic vernal sea-ice melt
The biogeochemical role of a microbial biofilm in sea ice
Macro-nutrient concentrations in Antarctic pack ice
Impacts of sea ice melting procedures on measurements of microbial community structure
A pan-Arctic perspective on the influence of ice algae on sea-ice nutrient concentrations
Commentary on the outputs and future of Biogeochemical Exchange Processes at Sea-Ice Interfaces (Bepsii)
The relationship between sea ice bacterial community structure and biogeochemistry
Polar oceans and sea ice in a changing climate
Iron in sea ice
Microalgal community structure and primary production in Arctic and Antarctic sea ice
Spatial and seasonal distribution of dissolved and particulate bioactive metals in Antarctic sea ice
Impact of experimental light regimes on Antarctic fast-ice algal communities observed by combining ice coring and imaging spectroscopy
On the phenology and seeding potential of sea-ice microalgal species
Influence of short-term synoptic events and snow depth on DMS, DMSP, and DMSO dynamics in Antarctic spring sea ice
Monitoring a changing Arctic
| Unique citing works | 19 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 1.73 |
| Citation span | 2015 - 2025 (11) |
| Citation velocity | recent |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 18 |