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Abstract The Western Antarctic Peninsula is undergoing rapid environmental change. Regional warming is causing increased glacial meltwater discharge, but the ecological impact of this meltwater over large spatiotemporal scales is not well understood. Here, we leverage 20 years of remote sensing data, reanalysis products, and field observations to assess the effects of sea surface glacial meltwater on phytoplankton biomass and highlight its importance as a key environmental driver for this region’s productive ecosystem. We find a strong correlation between meltwater and phytoplankton chlorophyll-a across multiple time scales and datasets. We attribute this relationship to nutrient fertilization by glacial meltwater, with potential additional contribution from surface ocean stabilization associated with sea-ice presence. While high phytoplankton biomass typically follows prolonged winter sea-ice seasons and depends on the interplay between light and nutrient limitation, our results indicate that the positive effects of increased glacial meltwater on phytoplankton communities likely mitigate the negative impact of sea-ice loss in this region in recent years. Our findings underscore the critical need to consider glacial meltwater as a key ecological driver in polar coastal ecosystems. 

Abstract Carbon export driven by submesoscale, eddy‐associated vertical velocities (“eddy subduction”), and particularly its seasonality, remains understudied, leaving a gap in our understanding of ocean carbon sequestration. Here, we assess mechanisms controlling eddy subduction's spatial and seasonal patterns using 15 years of observations from BGC‐Argo floats in the Southern Ocean. We identify signatures of eddy subduction as subsurface anomalies in temperature‐salinity and oxygen. The anomalies are spatially concentrated near weakly stratified areas and regions with strong lateral buoyancy gradients diagnosed from satellite altimetry, particularly in the Antarctic Circumpolar Current's standing meanders. We use bio‐optical ratios, specifically the chlorophyllato particulate backscatter ratio (Chl/b_bp) to find that eddy subduction is most active in the spring and early summer, with freshly exported material associated with seasonally weak vertical stratification and increasing surface biomass. Climate change is increasing ocean stratification globally, which may weaken eddy subduction's carbon export potential. 

The Southern Ocean plays a vital role in global CO₂uptake, but the magnitude and even the sign of the flux remain uncertain, and the influence of phytoplankton phenology is underexplored. This study focuses on the West Antarctic Peninsula, a region experiencing rapid climate change, to examine shifts in seasonal carbon uptake. Using 20 years of in situ air‐sea CO₂flux and satellite‐derived Chlorophyll‐a, we observe that the seasonal cycles of both air‐sea CO₂flux and Chlorophyll‐a intensify poleward. The amplitude of the seasonal cycle of the non‐thermal component of surface ocean pCO₂increases with increasing latitude, while the amplitude of the thermal component remains relatively stable. Pronounced biological uptake occurs over the shelf in austral summer despite reduced CO₂solubility in warmer waters, which typically limits carbon uptake through physical processes. These findings underscore the prominence of biological mechanisms in regulating carbon fluxes in this rapidly changing region. 

Abstract. As a net source of nutrients fuelling global primary production, changes in Southern Ocean productivity are expected to influence biological carbon storage across the global ocean. Following a high-emission, low-mitigation pathway (SSP5-8.5), we show that primary productivity in the Antarctic zone of the Southern Ocean is predicted to increase by up to 30 % over the 21st century. The ecophysiological response of marine phytoplankton experiencing climate change will be a key determinant in understanding the impact of Southern Ocean productivity shifts on the carbon cycle. Yet, phytoplankton ecophysiology is poorly represented in Coupled Model Intercomparison Project phase 6 (CMIP6) climate models, leading to substantial uncertainty in the representation of its role in carbon sequestration. Here we synthesise the existing spatial and temporal projections of Southern Ocean productivity from CMIP6 models, separated by phytoplankton functional type, and identify key processes where greater observational data coverage can help to improve future model performance. We find substantial variability between models in projections of light concentration (>15 000 (µE m−2 s−1)2) across much of the iron- and light-limited Antarctic zone. Projections of iron and light limitation of phytoplankton vary by up to 10 % across latitudinal zones, while the greatest increases in productivity occurs close to the coast. Temperature, pH and nutrients are less spatially variable – projections for 2090–2100 under SSP5-8.5 show zonally averaged changes of +1.6 °C and −0.45 pH units and Si* ([Si(OH)4]–[NO3-]) decreases by 8.5 µmol L−1. Diatoms and picophytoplankton and/or miscellaneous phytoplankton are equally responsible for driving productivity increases across the subantarctic and transitional zones, but picophytoplankton and miscellaneous phytoplankton increase at a greater rate than diatoms in the Antarctic zone. Despite the variability in productivity with different phytoplankton types, we show that the most complex models disagree on the ecological mechanisms behind these productivity changes. We propose that a sampling approach targeting the regions with the greatest rates of climate-driven change in ocean biogeochemistry and community assemblages would help to resolve the empirical principles underlying the phytoplankton community structure in the Southern Ocean. 

Abstract Over the last 30 years, ocean sciences have been undergoing a technological revolution. Changes include the transition of autonomous platforms from being interesting engineering projects to being critical tools for scientists studying a range of processes at sea. My career has benefitted immensely from these technical innovations, allowing me to be at sea (virtually) 365 days a year and operate ocean networks globally. While these technical innovations have opened many research doors, many aspects of oceanography are unchanged. In my experience, working/talking/scheming with scientists is most effective face-to-face. Despite the growing capabilities of robotic platforms, we will still need to go to sea on ships to conduct critical experiments. As the responsibilities of scientists expand with mandated outreach efforts, I strongly urge young scientists to leverage the expertise of Broader Impact professionals, who are increasingly available to our community, in order to maximize the effectiveness and efficiency of our outreach efforts. Given the increasing observations of change occurring in the ocean, our work is ever-more important while still being fun. I am blessed to have had a career as an oceanographer exploring this planet. 

AbstractPolar systems are experiencing major changes that has significant implications for ocean circulation and global biogeochemistry. While these changes are accelerating, access to polar systems is decreasing as ships and logistical capabilities are declining. Autonomous underwater buoyancy gliders have proven to be robust technologies that are capable of filling sampling gaps. Gliders have also provided a more sustained presence in polar seas than ships are able. Along the West Antarctic Peninsula, one of the most rapidly warming regions on this planet, gliders have proven to be a useful tool being used by the international community to link land research stations without requiring major research vessel ship support. The gliders are capable of adaptive sampling of subsurface features not visible from satellites, sustained sampling to characterize seasonal dynamics, and they increasingly play a central role in the management of natural resources. Future challenges to expand their utility include: (A) developing robust navigation under ice, which would allow gliders to provide a sustained bridge between the research stations when ship support is declining, and (B) expanding online resources to provide the international community open access to quality data in near real time. These advances will accelerate the use of gliders to fill critical sampling gaps for these remote ocean environments. 

Abstract The Antarctic krillEuphausia superbais often considered an herbivore but is notable for its trophic flexibility, which includes feeding on protistan and metazoan zooplankton. Characterizing krill trophic position (TP) is important for understanding carbon and energy flow from phytoplankton to vertebrate predators and to the deep ocean, especially as plankton composition is sensitive to changing climate. We used repeated field sampling and experiments to study feeding by juvenile krill during three austral summers in waters near Palmer Station, Antarctica. Our approach was to combine seasonal carbon budgets, gut fluorescence measurements, imaging flow cytometry, and compound‐specific isotope analysis of amino acids. Field measurements coupled to experimentally derived grazing functional response curves suggest that phytoplankton grazing alone was insufficient to support the growth and basal metabolism of juvenile krill. Phytoplankton consumption by juvenile krill was limited due to inefficient feeding on nanoplankton (2–20 μm), which constituted the majority of autotrophic prey. Mean krill TP and the metazoan dietary fraction increased in years with higher mesozooplankton biomass, which was not coupled to phytoplankton biomass. Comparing TP estimates using δ¹⁵N of different amino acids indicated a substantial and consistent food‐web contribution from heterotrophic protists. Phytoplankton, metazoans, and heterotrophic protists all were important contributors to a diverse krill diet that changed substantially among years. Juvenile krill fed mostly on heterotrophic prey during summer near Palmer Station, and this food web complexity should be considered more broadly throughout the changing Southern Ocean. 

Abstract Microbial ecological functions are an emergent property of community composition. For some ecological functions, this link is strong enough that community composition can be used to estimate the quantity of an ecological function. Here, we apply random forest regression models to compare the predictive performance of community composition and environmental data for bacterial production (BP). Using data from two independent long-term ecological research sites—Palmer LTER in Antarctica and Station SPOT in California—we found that community composition was a strong predictor of BP. The top performing model achieved an R2 of 0.84 and RMSE of 20.2 pmol L−1 hr−1 on independent validation data, outperforming a model based solely on environmental data (R2 = 0.32, RMSE = 51.4 pmol L−1 hr−1). We then operationalized our top performing model, estimating BP for 346 Antarctic samples from 2015 to 2020 for which only community composition data were available. Our predictions resolved spatial trends in BP with significance in the Antarctic (P value = 1 × 10−4) and highlighted important taxa for BP across ocean basins. Our results demonstrate a strong link between microbial community composition and microbial ecosystem function and begin to leverage long-term datasets to construct models of BP based on microbial community composition. 

ABSTRACT The continental shelf of the Western Antarctic Peninsula (WAP) is a highly variable system characterized by strong cross-shelf gradients, rapid regional change, and large blooms of phytoplankton, notably diatoms. Rapid environmental changes coincide with shifts in plankton community composition and productivity, food web dynamics, and biogeochemistry. Despite the progress in identifying important environmental factors influencing plankton community composition in the WAP, the molecular basis for their survival in this oceanic region, as well as variations in species abundance, metabolism, and distribution, remains largely unresolved. Across a gradient of physicochemical parameters, we analyzed the metabolic profiles of phytoplankton as assessed through metatranscriptomic sequencing. Distinct phytoplankton communities and metabolisms closely mirrored the strong gradients in oceanographic parameters that existed from coastal to offshore regions. Diatoms were abundant in coastal, southern regions, where colder and fresher waters were conducive to a bloom of the centric diatom,Actinocyclus. Members of this genus invested heavily in growth and energy production; carbohydrate, amino acid, and nucleotide biosynthesis pathways; and coping with oxidative stress, resulting in uniquely expressed metabolic profiles compared to other diatoms. We observed strong molecular evidence for iron limitation in shelf and slope regions of the WAP, where diatoms in these regions employed iron-starvation induced proteins, a geranylgeranyl reductase, aquaporins, and urease, among other strategies, while limiting the use of iron-containing proteins. The metatranscriptomic survey performed here reveals functional differences in diatom communities and provides further insight into the environmental factors influencing the growth of diatoms and their predicted response to changes in ocean conditions. IMPORTANCEIn the Southern Ocean, phytoplankton must cope with harsh environmental conditions such as low light and growth-limiting concentrations of the micronutrient iron. Using metratranscriptomics, we assessed the influence of oceanographic variables on the diversity of the phytoplankton community composition and on the metabolic strategies of diatoms along the Western Antarctic Peninsula, a region undergoing rapid climate change. We found that cross-shelf differences in oceanographic parameters such as temperature and variable nutrient concentrations account for most of the differences in phytoplankton community composition and metabolism. We opportunistically characterized the metabolic underpinnings of a large bloom of the centric diatomActinocyclusin coastal waters of the WAP. Our results indicate that physicochemical differences from onshore to offshore are stronger than between southern and northern regions of the WAP; however, these trends could change in the future, resulting in poleward shifts in functional differences in diatom communities and phytoplankton blooms.