Comment on “Measuring primary production rates in the ocean: Enigmatic results between incubation and non-incubation methods at Station ALOHA” by P. D. Quay et al.

2012 ◽  
Vol 26 (2) ◽  
pp. n/a-n/a ◽  
Author(s):  
John Marra
1987 ◽  
Vol 44 (S1) ◽  
pp. s47-s54 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. A. Shearer ◽  
E. J. Fee ◽  
E. R. DeBruyn ◽  
D. R. DeClercq

One basin of a small, double-basin lake was fertilized with carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus for eight years, and then fertilization was stopped. The other basin was fertilized simultaneously with equivalent amounts of carbon and nitrogen only. Phytoplankton primary production was monitored using an incubator–numerical model technique. Production increased dramatically in the basin receiving artificial additions of C, N, and P. The increase was particularly large in the epilimnion where Cyanophyte blooms occurred during each year of fertilization and production rates averaged 2 to 10 times higher than in nearby, unfertilized reference lakes. Phosphorus, not nitrogen or carbon, was the critical nutrient. The productivity of the other basin also increased, but to a lesser degree and no Cyanophyte blooms were observed in this basin. When all fertilization was terminated, production in both basins immediately decreased. No more surface blooms were observed in either basin. Within 3 yr, the production had dropped to levels typical of reference lakes.


2010 ◽  
Vol 24 (4) ◽  
pp. n/a-n/a ◽  
Author(s):  
Rachel H. R. Stanley ◽  
John B. Kirkpatrick ◽  
Nicolas Cassar ◽  
Bruce A. Barnett ◽  
Michael L. Bender

2014 ◽  
Vol 71 (5) ◽  
pp. 1158-1169 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Conor McManus ◽  
Candace A. Oviatt ◽  
Anne E. Giblin ◽  
Jane Tucker ◽  
Jefferson T. Turner

Abstract Primary production was measured from 1992–2010 in Massachusetts Bay and just outside Boston Harbor for the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority's outfall monitoring program. In 2003, annual primary production decreased by 221–278 g C m−2 year−1, with decreased rates continuing through 2010. Based on a conceptual model, oceanographic and meteorological variables were analysed with production rates to determine if concurrent environmental changes were responsible for the reduced primary production in Massachusetts Bay. Results indicated that a stronger influx of low salinity water from the Western Maine Coastal Current (WMCC) in recent years might be responsible for the decreases. The WMCC appeared to have become fresher due to increased river discharge in the western Gulf of Maine. Northeasterly winds in recent years promoted the WMCC intrusion into Massachusetts Bay. Correlation between primary production and surface salinities suggested an impact of the WMCC on production rates. We hypothesized that increased stratification resulted in reduced vertical mixing and reduced nutrient concentrations in surface waters for phytoplankton growth. However, no significant correlations were observed between the annual primary production and nutrient concentrations in Massachusetts Bay. Reduced production rates in Massachusetts Bay have, however, been associated with reduced zooplankton abundances, benthic ammonium fluxes and sediment oxygen demand in summer months.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hana Jurikova ◽  
Osamu Abe ◽  
Fuh-Kwo Shiah ◽  
Mao-Chang Liang

Abstract. South China Sea (SCS), world’s largest marginal sea, plays an important role in the global as well as regional biogeochemical cycling of carbon and oxygen. However, its overall metabolic balance, primary production rates, and their link to East Asian Monsoon forcing still remain poorly constrained. Here, we report seasonal trends in triple oxygen isotope composition (17Δ) of dissolved O2, a tracer for biological O2, gross primary production (GP; inferred from δ17O and δ18O values), and net community production (NP; evaluated from oxygen–argon ratios) from the SouthEast Asian Time-series Study (SEATS) in SCS. Our results suggest stable mixed-layer GP rates of 1.8 g C m−2 d−1 and NP of −0.02 g C m−2 d−1 during the summer southwest monsoon, indicating the prevalence of net heterotrophy. During winter months characterised by stronger northeast monsoon forcing, the system is more dynamic with variable production rates, which may shift the metabolism from net heterotrophy to net autotrophy (NP up to ~0.15 g C  m−2 d−1). These findings underscore the importance of monsoon intensity on tilting the carbon balance from source to sink in a warm oligotrophic sea, and on driving the regional circulation pattern. Finally, our data from the deeper regions show that SCS circulation is strongly affected by monsoon wind forcing, with a larger part of the water column down to at least 400 m depth fully exchanged during a winter, suggesting the 17Δ of deep O2 as a valuable novel conservative tracer for probing mixing processes from a new perspective.


2006 ◽  
Vol 63 (5) ◽  
pp. 1115-1129 ◽  
Author(s):  
David C Depew ◽  
Stephanie J Guildford ◽  
Ralph E.H Smith

Planktonic primary production, chlorophyll a (chl a), underwater light climate, and total phosphorus were measured at 18 stations during 2001 and 2002 in eastern Lake Erie to characterize spatial and seasonal patterns in this system colonized by dreissenid mussels (Dreissena spp.). Areal production rates and chl a displayed a seasonal pattern typical of the Laurentian Great Lakes, with highest production in the early and late summer. Daily and seasonal (May–October) primary production was significantly lower nearshore than offshore. Although light attenuation was similar between nearshore and offshore, the nearshore light climate was generally more favorable for phytoplankton because of shallower mixing depths. However, chl a was significantly lower nearshore, which accounted for most of the depression in production rates. Nearshore chl a was lower than predicted from relationships with total phosphorus in comparable dreissenid-free systems. Offshore, subepilimnetic communities contributed up to 67% of daily production but only up to 19% of seasonal production. The depression of chl a and primary production in the nearshore was a reversal from historic patterns in eastern Lake Erie and from the pattern traditionally expected in large lakes. Decreased external nutrient loading and dreissenid colonization may both have contributed to this new spatial pattern, but dreissenids appear to be key agents.


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