The spring blooms of phytoplankton play a key role in the functioning of marine ecosystems in the polar regions. A spring bloom in the Subarctic White Sea was observed in order to determine the effect of ice cover on the distribution, composition, and temporal changes of phytoplankton communities. The obtained results clearly show that in the White Sea, as in other freezing Arctic seas, ice melting and ice removal both play an essential role in the onset and development of spring phytoplankton blooms. This facilitates the release of ice algae and ice-pelagic algae into the water, as well as the rapid development of true planktonic taxa within the euphotic zone. One major peak of algal biomass is associated with ice removal while the other is recorded in the early summer. Comparison of our results with earlier data from 1960s-1990s indicated strong year-to-year variation in terms of ice removal, the onset of the spring bloom, and the abundance and composition of the dominant phytoplankton taxa.

浮游植物的春季开花在极地地区海洋生态系统的功能中起关键作用。为了确定冰盖对浮游植物群落分布，组成和时间变化的影响，在北极白海中观察到了春季开花。所获得的结果清楚地表明，在白海中，如同在其他冰冻的北极海中一样，融冰和除冰在春季浮游植物开花的开始和发展中都起着重要作用。这促进了冰藻和冰浮游藻类向水中的释放，并促进了富营养区内真正的浮游生物类群的迅速发展。藻类生物量的一个主要峰值与除冰有关，而另一个峰值则记录在初夏。