Duarte Pedro, Castro de la Guardia Laura, Assmy Philipp, Wold Anette, Fransson Agneta, Chierici Melissa, Bailey Allison, Hodson Andrew, Alexander Andreas, Magalhães Catarina, Gabrielsen Geir Wing, Albretsen Jon, Frank Lukas, Tripathy Sarat Chandra, Smerdou Carlos, Gordillo Francisco J L, Cobos Pablo, Velázquez David, Convey Peter, De Rovere Francesco, Hop Haakon
Norwegian Polar Institute, Fram Centre, Tromsø, 9296, Norway.
Scottish Association for Marine Science (SAMS) Dunstaffnage Marine Laboratory, Oban, PA37 1QA, UK.
Sci Rep. 2025 Jul 2;15(1):22946. doi: 10.1038/s41598-025-06953-3.
Fjords in the Arctic are changing rapidly due to multiple factors including increasing air temperatures, the influx of Atlantic Water (Atlantification), sea-ice loss, retreat of tidewater glaciers, increased freshwater discharges, pollution and tourism. Understanding how these changes affect ecosystem processes and functions and, thus, services to society is critical. Net Ecosystem Metabolism (NEM) offers a holistic measure of ecosystem functioning and services, reflecting the balance between autotrophic and heterotrophic processes and the sink/source role of an ecosystem for nutrients and carbon. Using a 10-year dataset we quantify the main nutrient sources and sinks in Kongsfjorden (Svalbard) and estimate NEM using a method based on mixing diagrams combined with an ocean circulation model. We show that Kongsfjorden is a nutrient and carbon sink primarily supported by nutrient inputs from the adjacent shelf sea with terrestrial run-off playing a secondary role. Given the ongoing changes in the Arctic, driven by global warming and its associated effects, we recommend monitoring NEM as an integrated measure of the state of coastal ecosystems, considering the disproportionately large role of coastal regions in the global carbon budget.
北极峡湾正由于多种因素而迅速变化，这些因素包括气温上升、大西洋水的涌入（大西洋化）、海冰流失、潮水冰川消退、淡水排放增加、污染和旅游业。了解这些变化如何影响生态系统过程和功能，进而影响对社会的服务至关重要。净生态系统代谢（NEM）提供了一种对生态系统功能和服务的整体衡量方法，反映了自养和异养过程之间的平衡以及生态系统对养分和碳的汇/源作用。利用一个长达10年的数据集，我们量化了孔斯峡湾（斯瓦尔巴群岛）的主要养分源和汇，并使用一种基于混合图结合海洋环流模型的方法估算了NEM。我们表明，孔斯峡湾是一个养分和碳汇，主要由来自相邻陆架海的养分输入所支持，陆地径流起次要作用。鉴于北极地区在全球变暖及其相关影响驱动下正在发生的变化，我们建议将监测NEM作为沿海生态系统状态的综合衡量指标，考虑到沿海地区在全球碳预算中所起的不成比例的巨大作用。
