Particle fluxes and composition were examined over 5 years at two mooring sites in the Polar Front Region (site PF: 50°09.S, 5°50.E) and in the marginal winter sea-ice zone (site BO: 54°30.S, 3°20.W) in the eastern Atlantic Sector of the Southern Ocean. Seasonality, interannual variability and the magnitude of total mass fluxes were higher at site BO compared to PF. Five-year averages and standard deviations (1Sigma) of total mass fluxes were 19.6±18.5 and 24.8±29.9 g m-2 at PF and BO, respectively. Peak fluxes at site BO occurred in January 1995, but the highest peak was measured in February 1991 (almost 1300 mg m-2 d-1) followed by post-bloom sedimentation in March through May. This would imply a time shift of several months between the onset of sea-ice retreat in October and major sedimentation events recorded in January/February with the upper BO traps. At site PF, highest fluxes of about 500 mg m-2 d-1 were found between December and March. Blooms at site BO, influenced by sea ice as indicated by diatom species composition, seem to occur more sporadically (e.g., in 1991 and 1995). Annual diatom fluxes were 11.8x106 and 20x106 valves m-2 during the deployments PF3 (1990) and BO1 (1991), respectively. At PF3, Fragilariopsis kerguelensis (37%) and Thalassionema nitzschioides fo1 (26.5%) dominated diatom flux, while F. kerguelensis (29%) and sea-ice-related algae (40%) were the main contributors to total diatom flux at site BO. During deployment BO1, the bloom collected in February was characterized by a very high molar Si:C of 8.8 that decreased almost continuously during the post-bloom phase, reaching a value of 1 in May. This change, however, was not documented in diatom species composition. We obtained a significant linear increase of biogenic opal with organic carbon fluxes at site PF and a highly significant but exponential relationship at site BO. Higher annual total mass fluxes were recorded at site BO, primarily due to elevated opal and lithogenic fluxes, corresponding to a higher silicate availability in the southern Antarctic Circumpolar Current. In contrast, higher mean organic carbon fluxes were obtained at site PF in accordance with elevated primary production and biomass. We obtained a three-fold higher molar Si:C ratio (5-year mean) for sinking particles collected with the upper BO traps (Si:C=4.0) compared to the PF (Si:C=1.3), consistent with the general pattern of Si and Fe availability. In particular at site BO, the Si:C ratios were usually high, even when accounting for organic carbon decay and biogenic silica (BSi) dissolution in the upper water column. At this study site, the Si:C ratios increased with lithogenic fluxes.

Supplement to: Fischer, Gerhard; Gersonde, Rainer; Wefer, Gerold (2002): Organic carbon, biogenic silica and diatom fluxes in the marginal winter sea ice zone and in the Polar Front Region: interannual variation and changes in composition. Deep Sea Research Part II: Topical Studies in Oceanography, 49(9-10), 1721-1745