Effects of atmospheric heat input on the release of organic carbon from sea ice

This study investigates the transport of organic carbon in an ice-covered marine ecosystem in the coastal region of the Okhotsk Sea including Saroma-Ko lagoon, using a numerical simulation of a coupled ice–ocean ecosystem model. The present paper particularly discusses the relation of physical release flux of organic carbon from the ice to heat inputs from atmosphere. The numerical computation has revealed that the release phenomenon from the ice is promoted in sensitive response to variations in atmospheric temperature: the abrupt rises and drops of the atmospheric temperature lead to the fluctuated increases in the release by way of the activation of ice-melting and brine convection. We also found that the seasonal rising of the atmospheric temperature generates the supply areas of organic carbon from ice ecosystems into underlying pelagic ecosystems.