Temporal dynamics of particulate matter fluxes and sediment community response in Port Foster, Deception Island, Antarctica

Time-series particle flux and seasonal sediment community oxygen consumption (SCOC) were measured in Port Foster (160 m water depth), Deception Island, Antarctica, beginning in March 1999 and continuing through November 2000. Sediment traps were moored at 50 and 20 m above bottom and collected sedimenting material for contiguous periods of 10 to 18.3 days. Fluxes of material increased in mid-winter of 1999 and 2000 but were more notable in 1999. Fluxes were higher in the deeper sediment trap and there was an inverse relationship between mass flux and % organic carbon and particulate total nitrogen. A piston-operated grab respirometer was deployed at 160 m depth for 35–60 h in November 1999, and in February, May/June, and November 2000, to measure SCOC and recover the sediment for organic carbon, nitrogen and pigment composition. SCOC, as an estimate of sediment community carbon demand, exceeded the organic carbon flux to the seafloor (supply), and alternative sources of organic carbon input to the benthos are discussed. Highest SCOC occurred in the austral summer during a particle-flux sampling hiatus in the summer of 2000. Fluxes were positively correlated with local wind speed measured at a terrestrial station positioned on a hill overlooking Port Foster. There was also a positive correlation between the particulate matter fluxes and the ratio of chlorophyll a to phaeopigments, an indicator of the “freshness” of material entering the sediment trap at 20 mab. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]