Polar

The Arctic is (N/S) pole

N

The Antarctic is (N/S) pole

S

The Arctic ocean is very shallow due to 1/3 of it layign over the _____ ______

continental shelf

Freshwater runoff from 11 major rivers, these areas often form a ____ ____ (highly stratified water)

salt wedge

Climate change is melting more permafrost, leading to more ______ into the Arctic

runoff

The sea ice-albedo feedback loop is what kind of feedback loop?

Positive

Thin ice has a (low/high) albedo, while thick ice has a (low/high) albedo

low
high

Surface water currents traveling in two concentric rings around antarctica causes a lot of

upwelling

Warmer, nutrient rich water upwells to the surface and supports high productivity, making it RICH in krill
Surface water is actually colder than the deep water

Antarctic convergence

Four major similarities between the Arctic and Antarctic, generally, are

Highly productive
High seasonality
Sensitive to environmental changes
General food web

The phytoplankton in the arctic/antarctic are mostly limited by

light

What is the primary producer in the Spring/Fall?

Ice algae

What is the primary producer in the summer?

Phytoplankton

Massive Under-Ice Phytoplankton Blooms (MUPBs) are a new phenomenon primarily driven by

thinning ice

Thinning ice has allowed blooms of under-ice algae earlier in the year, which is causing a decrease in summer ________ due to the ice algae using all the nutrients.

phytoplankton

The high seasonality in the poles is due to

the tilt of Earth’s axis

Less light per unit area in the poles has led to

less effective heating

The historic polar ecosystem with thick ice follows:
(more/less) light transmittance
(more/less) phytoplankton
(more/less) ice algae
(more/less) zooplankton
(more/less) fish
(more/less) falling organic matter
(more/less) benthic species

less
less
more
less
less
more
more

The transitional polar ecosystem with thin ice follows:
(more/less) light transmittance
(more/less) phytoplankton
(more/less) ice algae
(more/less) zooplankton
(more/less) fish
(more/less) falling organic matter
(more/less) benthic species

more
more
less
more
more
less
less

Due to global warming, the reliance that grazers have on ice algae is

decreasing

Energy flow is dominated by a small number of species, making the food web ______ __ ____________ ______

vulnerable to environmental changes

Main differences of the Arctic and Antarctic are what three things?

Geologic setting
Benthic-pelagic coupling
Species composition

An ocean surrounded by land

Arctic

A continent surrounded by ocean

Antarctic

Antarctic ice cover is not depleting, but

location of ice is shifting

There is more/less benthic coupling in the Arctic due to the extensive shallow shelves

more

Similarity between Arctic and Antarctic food web:
Low diversity of _____ and _____ trophic levels

intermediate
upper

Similarity between Arctic and Antarctic food web:
____ ___ dominated by only a few species

energy flow

Similarity between Arctic and Antarctic food web:
Top predators are ____ and marine _____

seabirds
mammals

Difference between Arctic and Antarctic food web:
Antarctica has a much smaller role for _____ because krill is directly eaten by top redators

fish

Difference between Arctic and Antarctic food web:
Antarctica has limited _______ _______ because the shelves are minimal and water is much deeper

benthic-pelagic coupling

Difference between Arctic and Antarctic food web:
Antarctica has way may __________ (krill) in the web

Zooplankton