Will low primary production rates in the Amundsen Basin (Arctic Ocean) remain low in a future ice-free setting, and what governs this production?

The study is based on a very extensive data-set of physical, biological, and optical parameters from below the sea ice in the western Amundsen Basin, central Arctic Ocean, in August–September 2012 during the record low sea ice extent. The water column was strongly stratified at all stations related to salinity differences between a surface layer of reduced salinities (<29–33) and deep-water layer salinities (>34). A nitrate utilization-based...