Dynamics regulating major trends in Barents Sea temperatures and subsequent effect on remotely sensed particulate inorganic carbon

A more comprehensive understanding of how ocean temperatures influence coccolithophorid production of particulate inorganic carbon (PIC) will make it easier to constrain the effect of ocean acidification in the future. We studied the effect of temperature on Emiliania huxleyi PIC production in the Barents Sea using ocean colour remote sensing data. Gross annual PIC production was calculated for 1998-2011 from SeaWiFS and MODIS data and coupled with results from previous studies to create a time-series from 1979-2011. Using that data, we investigated (1) correlations between various climate indices, models and temperature recordings of the Kola transect, and (2) the dynamics of temperature and PIC production. A strong inverse correlation (r(2) = 0.88) was found between the strength of the North Atlantic subpolar gyre (SPG) with a 3 yr lead and major trends in temperatures from the Kola transect. The effect of ocean temperature on PIC production was complex but generally positive, explaining roughly 50% of the annual variability and indicating that rising temperatures in the North Atlantic may favour coccolithophorid PIC production in the Barents Sea. Positive phases of the Atlantic multidecadal oscillation tended to precede PIC blooms by 1 yr.