Abstract: Polynyas play an important role in climate change and ecosystem environment. This paper reviews the spatial-temporal features and variations of phytoplankton biomass and productivity in four Antarctic polynyas, the Ross Sea, Amundsen Sea, Pine Island, and Mertz polynyas as well as the effects of physical parameters and climate modes on chlorophyll-a and the onset and duration of phytoplankton blooms in the polynyas. The conclusion of the paper are as follows: (1) the Ross Sea polynya is the area with the highest biological productivity in Antarctic marginal seas, accounting for 28% of the total productivity of the Southern Ocean; the Amundsen Sea and Pine Island polynyas have the highest productivity per unit area among 37 Antarctic polynyas ecosystems; there are obvious interannual variations of phytoplankton biomass in the Mertz polynya. (2) Sea ice concentration, wind speed, cloud cover, and other physical parameters are closely related to phytoplankton biomass, with obvious seasonal and regional characteristics. Sea ice concentration affects the photosynthetically available radiation reaching the sea surface by changing the amount of open water in polynyas; wind speed affects the vertical mixing intensity and changes the vertical distributions of nutrients and phytoplankton; the influence of cloud cover on polynya ecosystems is the result of the balance between the intensities of visible light and ultraviolet radiation. In some polynyas, there is a significant correlation between the interannual variation of phytoplankton biomass and the climate modes (such as the Southern Annular Mode and Semiannual Oscillation). regulating the climate variability at high latitudes in the southern hemisphere. In the future, long-term satellite remote sensing observations, in-situ observations and numerical simulations can be combined to explore the physical-ecological coupling mechanism between the climate modes and phytoplankton biomass, and advance the understanding of the variations and mechanisms of ecosystem productivity in polynyas with the goal of improving understanding of the biogeochemical cycling in key polar regions and its role in modulating the climate system.

Key words: Antarctic polynyas, phytoplankton biomass, spatial-temporal patterns, environmental variables, climate modes