## 3 Results
### Patterns of Primary Production and Nutrient Consumption Distribution
#### 3.2.1 Nutrient Consumption and Primary Production in the Area with the Highest PP Values  
The maximum values of primary production are observed in _Region I_, adjacent on all sides to the Medvezhinsky shallow water (Figure 7). This area is located in the zone of inflow of Atlantic waters. The average values of total primary production for silicon (NCP\({}_{\text{Si}}\)) in this water area during the period of maximum development of photosynthesis (August-September) are at the level of ~160 g C m\({}^{-2}\) (152 \(\pm\) 36 g C m\({}^{-2}\)), with maxima up to ~190 g C m\({}^{-2}\). Increases in the values of primary production on average in this area are observed until November (~100-120 g C m\({}^{-2}\)), and then there is a sharp decline by December to 56 \(\pm\) 14 g C m\({}^{-2}\). The average values of total primary production for nitrogen NCP\({}_{\text{N}}\), during the period of maximum development of photosynthesis in this region, are 100 g C m\({}^{-2}\) less than NCP\({}_{\text{Si}}\) and amount to 58 \(\pm\) 9 g C m\({}^{-2}\) (Figure 8).  
The western border of the region is located on the slope of the depths. Depths in the water area vary here from 500 m or more in the west of the area to 25 m off the coast of Medvezhiy Island. The increase in PP values in this water area is associated with the entry of nutrients into the euphotic layer from the lower layers, more saturated with these substances. The same effect is also described in the Sea of Okhotsk in the area of the Kashevarov Bank (2018), and the maximum values of PP are also observed here. However, in the Sea of Okhotsk, this effect is associated with the presence of a cyclonic eddy, resulting in the rise of water from the lower layers and the entry of nutrients into the euphotic layer. There is no mention in the literature about the presence or absence of such a cyclonic eddy in the Medvezhinsky-Spitsbergen shallow area, but when the Atlantic waters move from the west to the Barents Sea, it is obvious that they rise from depths where photosynthesis does not occur, and if south of shallow water, at depths of 250-300 m, not all water from deep layers, more saturated with nutrient layers, enters the euphotic layer, then in shallow water these waters directly enter the photosynthesis layer.  
In October-December, if we take into account the concentration of dissolved oxygen, the intensity of the photosynthesis process is minimal, and the high values of nutrient consumption are supported by the residual values of non-mineralized organic matter. A sharp decrease in these values by December-January is caused by an increase in the intensity of vertical mixing processes and replenishment of the supply of nutrients from the bottom layers.  
The structure of consumption of mineral forms of phosphorus, nitrogen, and silicon is shown in Figure 8. None of the nutrients considered is limiting to the process of photosynthesis. At the maximum development of the photosynthesis process, the residual reserves  
Figure 8: Annual cycle of primary production and nutrient consumption in the Region I: **(A)** consumed part of the nutrient supply in the process of photosynthesis (blue: mineral phosphorus, red: mineral nitrogen, green: silicon). **(B)** primary production (green: NCP\({}_{\text{Si}}\); red: NCP\({}_{\text{N}}\)).  
of silicon and nitrogen are at the level of 35-40%, and phosphorus at the level of \(\sim\)60%, shown in Figure 8 (100% minus value of consumption).