ABSTRACT
Ice algae were mostly ignored by investigators in both hemispheres until the International Geophysical Year, 1957-1958, brought about a renewed interest in polar regions. The ice algal bloom was clearly separated in time from the normal phytoplankton bloom, however. The extent of the ice algal bloom was not known, but it probably occurred on all 1-year-old ice at the periphery of the Arctic Ocean. The most extensive study of the ice algal community and the first in the Arctic to follow the seasonal cycle from fall through winter to ice breakup in spring was that of I. Homer, V. Alexander, and their co-workers at Barrow, Alaska. In the Canadian Arctic, ice algal production in Resolute Bay was considered to be negligible because of high snow cover, but outside the bay, production of this community was higher because snow cover was less. Ice algal production began soon after light was available and continued until early June when ice melt began.
