Biological productivity regime and associated N cycling in the vicinity of Kerguelen Island area, Southern Ocean

Abstract

Abstract. Although the Southern Ocean is considered a High Nutrient Low Chlorophyll area (HNLC), massive and recurrent blooms are observed over and downstream the Kerguelen Plateau. This mosaic of blooms is triggered by a higher iron supply resulting from the interaction between the Antarctic Circumpolar Current and the local bathymetry. Net primary production, N-uptake (NO3− and NH4+), and nitrification rates were measured at 8 stations in austral spring 2011 (October–November) during the KEOPS2 cruise in the Kerguelen area. Iron fertilization stimulates primary production, with integrated net primary production and growth rates much higher in the fertilized areas (up to 315 mmol C m−2 d−1 and up to 0.31 d−1, respectively) compared to the HNLC reference site (12 mmol C m−2 d−1 and 0.06 d−1, respectively). Primary production is mainly sustained by nitrate uptake, with f ratio (corresponding to NO3− uptake/(NO3− uptake + NH4+ uptake)) lying in the upper end of the observations for the Southern Ocean (up to 0.9). Unexpectedly, we report unprecedented rates of nitrification (up to ~3 mmol C m−2 d−1, with ~90% of them <1 mmol C m−2 d−1). It appears that nitrate is assimilated in the upper part of the mixed layer (coinciding with the euphotic layer) and regenerated in the lower parts. We suggest that such high contribution of nitrification to nitrate assimilation is driven by (i) a deep mixed layer, extending well below the euphotic layer, allowing nitrifiers to compete with phytoplankton for the assimilation of ammonium, (ii) extremely high rates of primary production for the Southern Ocean, stimulating the release of dissolved organic matter, and (iii) an efficient food web, allowing the reprocessing of organic N and the retention of nitrogen into the dissolved phase through ammonium, the substrate for nitrification.