Estimates of potential new production (PNP) for the waters off the western Antarctic Peninsula (WAP) region

Analysis of the terms used in the PNP equation indicate that both NO3 drawdown rates (mean=13.25±9.57 mmol m−2 d−1, N=156) and NO3 flux into the euphotic layer (mean=1.36±1.79 mmol m−2 d−1, N=156) have high temporal and spatial variability. NO3 drawdown rates were higher than NO3 flux into the control volume by approximately an order of magnitude. Sensitivity analyses of the model using two extreme values of Kz, (10−4 and 10−5 m s−2) that are widely reported in the literature for the WAP region, yielded a PNP range of 97.13 mg C m−2 d−1. The latter accounted for approximately 10% of the overall computed PNP. PNP estimates for the coastal sub-region which includes Marguerite Bay agreed well with estimates of nPP from north Marguerite Bay in a recent study which employed different datasets and research approach.