Sea ice primary productivity in the northern Barents Sea, spring 2004

The biomass and productivity of sea ice algae was assessed in the northwestern Barents Sea in May 2004. Sea ice algal pigment content was patchy with a mean of 18.5 ± 8.9 mg Chla m−2. The algal community was dominated by the diatom Nitzschia frigida. Primary production measured by 14C incubations was between 0.37 and 2.8 mg C m−2 h−1, which compared well with oxygen-based methods using the diffusive boundary layer approach (0.071–1.1 mg C m−2 h−1). Given the differences in the irradiances under which these two sets of measurements were made, there was a strong level of consistency between the two sets of results. Measurements of primary production were consistent with previous Arctic measurements but high spatial heterogeneity made a regional estimate of production inappropriate.