Document Type
Article
Publication Date
2009
DOI
10.1017/s0954102008001636
Publication Title
Antarctic Science
Volume
21
Issue
2
Pages
135-148
Abstract
The West Antarctic Peninsula region is an important source of Antarctic krill (Euphausia superba) in the Southern Ocean. From 1980-2004 abundance and concentration of phytoplankton and zooplankton, krill reproductive and recruitment success and seasonal sea ice extent here were significantly correlated with the atmospheric Southern Oscillation Index and exhibited three- to five-year frequencies characteristic of El Nino-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) variability. This linkage was associated with movements of the Southern Antarctic Circumpolar Current Front and Boundary, a changing influence of Antarctic Circumpolar Current and Weddell Sea waters, and eastward versus westward flow and mixing processes that are consistent with forcing by the Antarctic Dipole high-latitude climate mode. Identification of hydrographic processes underlying ecosystem variability presented here were derived primarily from multidisciplinary data collected during 1990-2004, a period with relatively stable year-to-year sea ice conditions. These results differ from the overwhelming importance of seasonal sea ice development previously established using 1980-1996 data, a period marked by a major decrease in sea ice from the Antarctic Peninsula region in the late 1980s. These newer results reveal the more subtle consequences of ENSO variability on biological responses. They highlight the necessity of internally consistent long-term multidisciplinary datasets for understanding ecosystem variability and ultimately for establishing well-founded ecosystem management. Furthermore, natural environmental variability associated with interannual- and decadal-scale changes in ENSO forcing must be considered when assessing impacts of climate warming in the Antarctic Peninsula-Weddell Sea region.
Rights
Web of Science: "Free full-text from publisher -- gold open access."
Original Publication Citation
Loeb, V. J., Hofmann, E. E., Klinck, J. M., Holm-Hansen, O., & White, W. B. (2009). ENSO and variability of the Antarctic Peninsula pelagic marine ecosystem. Antarctic Science, 21(2), 135-148. doi:10.1017/s0954102008001636
Repository Citation
Loeb, Valerie J.; Hofmann, Eileen E.; Klinck, John M.; Holm-Hansen, Osmund; and White, Warren B., "ENSO and Variability of the Antarctic Peninsula Pelagic Marine Ecosystem" (2009). CCPO Publications. 238.
https://digitalcommons.odu.edu/ccpo_pubs/238
ORCID
0000-0001-6710-4371 (Hofmann), 0000-0003-4312-5201 (Klinck)
Included in
Atmospheric Sciences Commons, Climate Commons, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Commons, Environmental Sciences Commons, Oceanography Commons