Abstract: A ground truth study was performed on first year fast ice in Kongsfjorden, Svalbard, during spring 1997 and 1998. The survey included sea ice thickness monitoring as well as observation of surface albedo, attenuation of optical radiation in the ice, physical properties and texture of snow and sea ice. The average total sea ice thickness in May was about 0.9 m, including a 0.2 m thick snow layer on top. Within a few weeks in both years, the snow melted almost completely, whereas the ice thickness decreased by not more than 0.05 m. During spring, the lower part of the snow refroze into a solid layer. The sea ice became more porous. Temperatures in the sea ice increased and the measurable salinity of the sea ice decreased with time. Due to snow cover thinning and snow grain growth, maximum surface albedo decreased from 0.96 to 0.74. Texture analysis on cores showed columnar ice with large crystals (max. crystal length > 0.1 m) below a 0.11 m thick mixed surface layer of granular ice with smaller crystals. In both years, we observed sea ice algae at the bottom part of the ice. This layer has a significant effect on the radiation transmissivity.

Abstract: Within the sheltered creeks of Cádiz bay, Ulva thalli form extended mat-like canopies. The effect of solar ultraviolet radiation on photosynthetic activity, the composition of photosynthetic and xanthophyll cycle pigments, and the amount of RubisCO, chaperonin 60 (CPN 60), and the induction of DNA damage in Ulva aff. rotundata Bliding from southern Spain was assessed in the field. Samples collected from the natural community were covered by screening filters, generating different radiation conditions. During daily cycles, individual thalli showed photoinhibitory effects of the natural solar radiation. This inhibition was ev
en more pronounced in samples only exposed to photosynthetically active radiation (PAR). Strongly increased heat dissipation in these samples indicated the activity of regulatory mechanisms involved in dynamic photoinhibition. Adverse effects of UV-B radiation on photosynthesis were only observed in combination with high levels of PAR, indicating the synergistic effects of the two wavelength ranges. In samples exposed either to PAR+UV-A or to UV-B+UV-A without PAR, no inhibition of photosynthetic quantum yield was found in the course of the day. At the natural site, the top layer of the mat-like canopies is generally completely bleached. Artificially designed Ulva canopies exhibited fast bleaching of the top layer under the natural solar radiation conditions, while this was not observed in canopies either shielded from UV or from PAR. The bleached first layer of the canopies acts as a selective UV-B filter, and thus prevents subcanopy thalli from exposure to harmful radiation. This was confirmed by the diff
erences in photosynthetic activity, pigment composition, and the concentration of RubisCO in thalli with different positions within the canopy. In addition, the induction of the stress protein CPN 60 under UV exposure and the low accumulation of DNA damage indicate the presence of physiological protection mechanisms against harmful UV-B. A mechanism of UV-B-induced inhibition of photosynthesis under field conditions is proposed.

Abstract: Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and in situ fluorescence were measured along with hydrographic parameters in the Greenland, Iceland, and Norwegian Seas (Nordic Seas). Surface (<100 m) concentrations of DOC ranged from 60 to 118 µM with elevated values in the East Greenland Current (EGC) which transports water from the Arctic Ocean to the North Atlantic. EGC surface waters also showed a pronounced fluorescence maximum between 30 and 120 m depth in all EGC sections indicating the abundance of Arctic river derived DOC in this current. Based on fluorescence we estimated that 20-50% of the annual river discharge to the Arctic Ocean was exported in the EGC. The fluorescence maximum was typically associated with salinity around 33 and temperatures below -1°C which are characteristic of surface and upper halocline water in the Arctic Ocean. The elevated fluorescence in this water mass suggests a strong Eurasian shelf component and also suggests that in situ fluorescence could be used to trace Eurasian shelf water in the central Arctic Ocean. DOC concentrations in the Nordic Sea basins (>1000 m) were relatively high (~50 µM DOC) compared with other ocean basins indicating active vertical transport of DOC in this region on decadal timescales. Based on existing vertical transport estimates and 15 µM of semilabile DOC we calculated an annual vertical net DOC export of 3.5 Tg C yr^-1 in the Greenland Sea and about 36 Tg C yr^-1 for the entire Arctic Mediterranean Sea (AMS) including the Greenland-Scotland Ridge overflow. It appears that physical processes play a determining role for the distribution of DOC in the AMS.