摘要

Uptake of N-15-labelled nitrate, ammonium, and urea was measured over a quasi-annual cycle in the Cape Bathurst Polynya in the Amundsen Gulf and on the Mackenzie Shelf, during the Canadian Arctic Shelf Exchange Study (CASES) in 2003 and 2004. Before the phytoplankton bloom and in autumn, nitrogen uptake was slow, representing less than 5% of annual consumption. Uptake rates increased exponentially after ice retreat and within 3 wk reached a maximum of 38.6 mmol N m(-2) d(-1). During spring, NO3- uptake supported new production of 166 mmol N m(-2) and f-ratios rose from 0.1-0.2 to 0.6-0.9. Filter fractionation showed that GF/F filters retained 93.1 +/- 1.3% of the N-15 incorporated into particulate matter, suggesting that phytoplankton were responsible for the majority of the N uptake. Although free-living bacteria took up relatively more N-15 in autumn and in the lower part of the euphotic zone than phytoplankton, their assimilation of inorganic N had little effect on water column integrated f-ratios or new production. Urea supplied almost half the N assimilated by phytoplankton annually and about 80% of the regenerated production during the spring bloom. Total new production, estimated from water column integrated N-15-nitrogen uptake rates and linear models that interpolated rates over unsampled periods, was 342-415 mmol N m(-2) yr(-1). Total annual N production for the region was 1.24-1.48 mol N m(-2) yr(-1).

  • 出版日期2013