Presenter: Penny Vlahos (University of Connecticut)

Description:
Boron is a major dissolved component in seawater and boron concentrations in seawater are strongly coupled to salinity. This boron to salinity ratio is used to determine the alkalinity contribution of boron in seawater systems primarily in the form of borate ions. Borate is the third major contributor to total alkalinity after bicarbonate and carbonate ions. However, in areas that are undergoing significant shifts in seawater chemistry such as the arctic ocean, it is important to examine the consistency of the boron to salinity ratio. This study presents data collected in the Bering and Chukchi Seas during May-June 2021 that sampled along the marginal ice zone with an emphasis on the ice melt region. The boron to salinity ratio is compared in ice floes and across the ice melt region to the open ocean endmember. The implications this may have on arctic alkalinity and carbonate chemistry calculations is also addressed.