Microbial Ecology of Rotten Sea Ice: Implications for Arctic Carbon Cycling with Global Warming

TL;DR

This study explores the unique microbial life in melting Arctic sea ice and its potential impact on carbon cycling as global warming progresses.

Contribution

The study identifies rotten sea ice as a distinct microbial habitat with unique biogeochemical properties and potential ecological significance.

Findings

Rotten sea ice has vertically homogeneous microbial communities and fluid properties, unlike earlier-season ice.

Particulate carbon and nitrogen concentrations are highest near the surface of rotten ice.

Microbial communities in rotten ice differ significantly from those in earlier-season ice and vary between floes.

Abstract

“Rotten” sea ice, ice in an advanced stage of melt, represents an important but understudied habitat in the rapidly changing Arctic. As Arctic warming accelerates, this late-season ice type will become more prevalent, yet little is known about its microbial inhabitants or their roles in Arctic marine biogeochemical cycles. We examined microbial communities (prokaryote and algal abundance, 16S and 18S rRNA gene and transcript sequencing) and biogeochemical properties of rotten sea ice and earlier-season ice near Utqiaġvik, Alaska, USA. Rotten ice was comparatively warm, isothermal, and largely drained of brine, with extensive, interconnected pore networks linked to melt ponds above and seawater below. Unlike earlier-season ice, fluids saturating rotten ice were vertically homogeneous in pH, dissolved inorganic carbon, prokaryote and phytoplankton abundance, and microbial community composition. However, particulate carbon and nitrogen exhibited strong vertical gradients, with the highest concentrations near the surface. Microbial communities in rotten ice were significantly different from those in earlier-season ice and varied between individual floes. These findings indicate that rotten ice constitutes a distinct microbial habitat and may serve as an important source of nutrient-rich particulate matter in the future Arctic Ocean during the summer melt season.

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