Climate Change: Melting Antarctic Glaciers Impact the Food Chain

It turns out that melting glaciers are having more of an impact on the Antarctic than previously thought. Researchers have found that the nutrient-rich meltwater is actually nourishing the ocean food chain, creating feeding hotspots.

Iron is actually stored in Antarctica's ice. This iron, though, is being shuttled by melting water to open areas of the ocean, called polynyas, where it stimulations the growth of phytoplankton, which form the base of the marine food chain. Krill and fish thrive on these tiny ocean algae, and these smaller creatures are fed on by larger ones.

"These coastal polynyas are sensitive to inputs from adjacent glaciers, and these glaciers are probably going to accelerate their melting in the future, which is certainly going to have implications for these polynyas," said Kevin Arrigo, one of the researchers, in a news release. "Coastal Antarctica is likely to become a more productive place in the future."

As the climate changes and ice melts, it's likely there will be a pike in the amount of iron in the polynyas. The increased iron could boost phytoplankton, potentially providing more food for the entire food chain. While sunlight and temperature play a role in the creation of the polynyas, the biggest driver is the amount of water leaving melting Antarctic glaciers.

"These polynyas appear to be disproportionately important, for their size, as sinks of carbon," said Arrigo. "And the reality is that they really are not included in anyone's carbon budget."

The findings reveal a bit more about the effect that glacier meltwater is having on the surrounding ecosystem, which could be crucial for the development of future climate models.

The findings are published in the Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans.

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