A groundbreaking autumn expedition to Antarctica’s Ross Sea has uncovered a remarkable phenomenon challenging conventional understanding of polar marine ecosystems. An international team of 50 researchers from nine nations, led by Shanghai Jiao Tong University, discovered unexpectedly high concentrations of plankton thriving in deep ocean layers during Antarctica’s transitional season – a finding that could rewrite our knowledge of carbon sequestration in polar waters.
The expedition, conducted during March-April 2024 as part of China’s 41st Antarctic mission, represents the first comprehensive study of Antarctic marginal seas during autumn. Scientists braved temperatures plunging to -28°C to collect over 5,500 water samples, revealing a vertically balanced distribution of planktonic life particularly pronounced in the Ross Sea polynya – the region’s “ice-making factory.” This discovery points to intense deep convection processes that transport surface organisms downward during seasonal freezing.
“The polynya acts as a biological elevator in autumn,” explained Dr. Zhang Zhaoru, noting how wind-driven convection transports organic matter to depth. The team also identified dual signals of warm deep water intrusion and cold meltwater from ice shelves, both critical to forming Antarctic Bottom Water that influences global ocean circulation. These processes appear to sustain an active “dark ecosystem” during Antarctica’s eight-month winter, challenging previous assumptions about seasonal biological dormancy.
Professor Zhou Meng, a veteran of 24 polar expeditions, emphasized the findings’ significance: “We’re seeing how winter processes set the stage for spring productivity, with potential implications for understanding climate feedback loops.” The research provides crucial baseline data for modeling how polar ecosystems may respond to climate change while demonstrating the value of international collaboration in extreme environment science.
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