@article{3e7c30cb0b8544fb8f5deca497455390,
title = "Photosynthetic light requirement near the theoretical minimum detected in Arctic microalgae",
abstract = "Photosynthesis is one of the most important biological processes on Earth, providing the main source of bioavailable energy, carbon, and oxygen via the use of sunlight. Despite this importance, the minimum light level sustaining photosynthesis and net growth of primary producers in the global ocean is still unknown. Here, we present measurements from the MOSAiC field campaign in the central Arctic Ocean that reveal the resumption of photosynthetic growth and algal biomass buildup under the ice pack at a daily average irradiance of not more than 0.04 ± 0.02 µmol photons m−2 s−1 in late March. This is at least one order of magnitude lower than previous estimates (0.3–5 µmol photons m−2 s−1) and near the theoretical minimum light requirement of photosynthesis (0.01 µmol photons m−2 s−1). Our findings are based on measurements of the temporal development of the under-ice light field and concurrent measurements of both chlorophyll a concentrations and potential net primary production underneath the sea ice at 86 °N. Such low light requirements suggest that euphotic zones where photosynthesis can occur in the world{\textquoteright}s oceans may extend further in depth and time, with major implications for global productivity estimates.",
keywords = "Arctic regions, biomass, Chlorophyll, Chlorophyll A, ice cover, light, microalgae, oceans, seas, photosynthesis, sunlight, Arctic Ocean, ice, alga, global ocean, irradiance, net primary production, sea ice, algal growth, arctic climate, bioavailability, cell count, light irradiance, microalga, microbial biomass, multidisciplinary team, nonhuman, photon, phytoplankton, primary production (biomass), temporal analysis, development and ageing, metabolism, physiology, radiation response",
author = "Hoppe, \{Clara J. M.\} and Niels Fuchs and Dirk Notz and Philip Anderson and Philipp Assmy and J{\o}rgen Berge and Gunnar Bratbak and Ga{\"e}l Guillou and Alexandra Kraberg and Aud Larsen and Benoit Lebreton and Eva Leu and Magnus Lucassen and Oliver M{\"u}ller and Laurent Oziel and Bj{\"o}rn Rost and Bernhard Schartm{\"u}ller and Anders Torstensson and Jonas Wloka",
note = "{\textcopyright} The Author(s) 2024 This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article{\textquoteright}s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article{\textquoteright}s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.",
year = "2024",
month = oct,
day = "4",
doi = "10.1038/s41467-024-51636-8",
language = "English",
volume = "15",
journal = "Nature Communications",
issn = "2041-1723",
publisher = "Nature Publishing Group",
number = "1",
}