Southern Ocean - Oden    As the Oden broke ice into the Amundsen
Sea, we were able to measure the concentration of nutrients. 
This provided a unique view of the biogeochemistry of the
Amundsen Polynya region (an ice-free region surrounded by ice). 
We found an accumulation of phosphate that reflects the growth
of diatoms in the overlying water.   Still the most difficult
ocean region to sample, the Southern Ocean slowly has revealed
new and important features in surface ocean biological
production and chemistry.  NSF sponsors cruises in the west
Antarctic region each austral spring aboard the Swedish
icebreaker Oden that I was fortunate to participate on in
December, 2008 - January 2009.  It was a rare opportunity to
sample the coast and shelf areas of this vast and largely un-
sampled region.    The processing of nutrients in the Antarctic
may have far-reaching consequences because the water from this
region flows to lower latitude.  In this way, the nature and
characteristics of the high-latitude biological