Ecosystem functions in the Southern Ocean

Sea ice means life at the seafloor

Abstract

Together with our students and cooperation partners we are working on a better understanding of the ecosystem functions of soft bottoms on the Antarctic shelf. Therefore, we participated in three expeditions with RV POLARSTERN and experimentally studied sediment samples from the seafloor in reefer containers on board. Oxygen consumption and remineralization are functions of communities of organisms in the sediment. They release nutrients as metabolic end products and ensure that the cycle of production and decomposition continues. The supply of organic material from the photic zone of the ocean plays a crucial role in this process. And this supply largely depends on the sea-ice cover.