## 3 Results
### Patterns of Primary Production and Nutrient Consumption Distribution
#### 3.2.2 Nutrient Consumption and Primary Production in Areas with High PP Values
The highest PP values in this region in August are 95 g C m\({}^{-2}\) for silicon and 39 g C m\({}^{-2}\) for nitrogen (Figure 10B). The number of phytoplankton in this period is 150-550 thousand cells/L (which is approximately 450 \(\upmu\)g/L) with a maximum in shallow water in the southern part. The maximum calculated PP values are also confined to the southern part of the region and amounted to 154 g C m\({}^{-2}\) for silicon and 66 g C m\({}^{-2}\) for nitrogen. According to the results of direct studies on phytoplankton parameters in October, it was shown that the total number of organisms decreased by 100 times and varied in the range of 0.5-3 thousand cells/L, and their biomass in the range of 2-70 \(\upmu\)g/L [51]. Nevertheless, the calculated values of PP accumulation increased only by a factor of 5 and averaged about 20 g C m\({}^{-2}\) for silicon. Such a delay in the decrease in the calculated PP values relative to the decrease in the values of the total abundance and biomass of phytoplankton is explained by the rate of mineralization of organic matter accumulated in the euphotic layer, which is much less than the natural rate of decrease in the total abundance and biomass of phytoplankton in the autumn period. Region IV. This area is influenced by cold currents directed from the Arctic Basin or the Kara Sea, as well as the coastal current of Franz Josef Land (Figure 7). According to long-term average data, seasonal ice processes occur throughout the year in the water area of this region (Figure 11). From April to June, the entire water area of this region is under ice. By July, the ice edge rises to the north, and half of the region's water area is free of ice. In August, according to long-term average data, most of the region is open from ice, but in  
Figure 10: Annual cycle of primary production and nutrient consumption (**A**) and primary production (**B**) in Region III; (**A**) is the consumed part of the nutrient supply in the process of photosynthesis (blue: mineral phosphorus, red: mineral nitrogen, green: silicon); (**B**) primary production (green: NCPSi; red: NCPN). the north, in the region of 79-80\({}^{\circ}\) N, the region's water area can be covered with ice. Since September, the reverse movement of the ice edge to the south begins. The annual cycle of nutrient consumption and primary production is shown in Figure 11A,B respectively. This region, along with the areas on the northern border of the sea, is the region with the least data, which is probably why the scatter of data in the annual cycle is very large. Nevertheless, it is possible to trace some patterns of changes in these parameters. The level of nitrogen consumption in this area is a maximum and from April to August is in the range of 93-99% of the total supply of this element. The level of silicon consumption is also high and amounts to 75-95%, although the variability of this value is quite large. The value of phosphorus consumption during the active phase of the photosynthesis process from April to September also has significant variability, but the highest consumption of mineral forms of phosphorus is 60-70% (Figure 11A). The highest NCP\({}_{\text{Si}}\) values are observed from May to October and are in the range of 110-125 g C m\({}^{-2}\). NCP\({}_{\text{N}}\) values are three times less and during this period are in the range of 35-40 g C m\({}^{-2}\) (Figure 11B). In this area, the limitation of the process of photosynthesis by nitrogen consumption is clearly expressed, in fact, up to 100%.