scholarly journals In situ phytoplankton distributions in the Amundsen Sea Polynya measured by autonomous gliders

Elem Sci Anth ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
Author(s):  
Oscar Schofield ◽  
Travis Miles ◽  
Anne-Carlijn Alderkamp ◽  
SangHoon Lee ◽  
Christina Haskins ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mixed Layer ◽  
Phytoplankton Biomass ◽  
Austral Summer ◽  
Euphotic Zone ◽  
Optical Data ◽  
Phytoplankton Blooms ◽  
Amundsen Sea ◽  
Water Column Stability ◽  
Upper Mixed Layer

Abstract The Amundsen Sea Polynya is characterized by large phytoplankton blooms, which makes this region disproportionately important relative to its size for the biogeochemistry of the Southern Ocean. In situ data on phytoplankton are limited, which is problematic given recent reports of sustained change in the Amundsen Sea. During two field expeditions to the Amundsen Sea during austral summer 2010–2011 and 2014, we collected physical and bio-optical data from ships and autonomous underwater gliders. Gliders documented large phytoplankton blooms associated with Antarctic Surface Waters with low salinity surface water and shallow upper mixed layers (< 50 m). High biomass was not always associated with a specific water mass, suggesting the importance of upper mixed depth and light in influencing phytoplankton biomass. Spectral optical backscatter and ship pigment data suggested that the composition of phytoplankton was spatially heterogeneous, with the large blooms dominated by Phaeocystis and non-bloom waters dominated by diatoms. Phytoplankton growth rates estimated from field data (≤ 0.10 day−1) were at the lower end of the range measured during ship-based incubations, reflecting both in situ nutrient and light limitations. In the bloom waters, phytoplankton biomass was high throughout the 50-m thick upper mixed layer. Those biomass levels, along with the presence of colored dissolved organic matter and detritus, resulted in a euphotic zone that was often < 10 m deep. The net result was that the majority of phytoplankton were light-limited, suggesting that mixing rates within the upper mixed layer were critical to determining the overall productivity; however, regional productivity will ultimately be controlled by water column stability and the depth of the upper mixed layer, which may be enhanced with continued ice melt in the Amundsen Sea Polynya.

scholarly journals Differential response of planktonic primary, bacterial, and dimethylsulfide production rates to static vs. dynamic light exposure in upper mixed-layer summer sea waters

2013 ◽  
Vol 10 (12) ◽  
pp. 7983-7998 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Galí ◽  
R. Simó ◽  
G. L. Pérez ◽  
C. Ruiz-González ◽  
H. Sarmento ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Primary Production ◽  
Mixed Layer ◽  
Light Exposure ◽  
Spectral Composition ◽  
Total Solar Irradiance ◽  
Depth Range ◽  
Biogeochemical Processes ◽  
Physiological Indicators ◽  
Upper Mixed Layer

Abstract. Microbial plankton experience short-term fluctuations in total solar irradiance and in its spectral composition as they are vertically moved by turbulence in the oceanic upper mixed layer (UML). The fact that the light exposure is not static but dynamic may have important consequences for biogeochemical processes and ocean–atmosphere fluxes. However, most biogeochemical processes other than primary production, like bacterial production or dimethylsulfide (DMS) production, are seldom measured in sunlight and even less often in dynamic light fields. We conducted four experiments in oligotrophic summer stratified Mediterranean waters, where a sample from the UML was incubated in ultraviolet (UV)-transparent bottles at three fixed depths within the UML and on a vertically moving basket across the same depth range. We assessed the response of the phyto- and bacterioplankton community with physiological indicators based on flow cytometry singe-cell measurements, fast repetition rate fluorometry (FRRf), phytoplankton pigment concentrations and particulate light absorption. Dynamic light exposure caused a subtle disruption of the photoinhibition and photoacclimation processes associated with ultraviolet radiation (UVR), which slightly alleviated bacterial photoinhibition but did not favor primary production. Gross DMS production (GPDMS) decreased sharply with depth in parallel to shortwave UVR, and displayed a dose-dependent response that mixing did not significantly disrupt. To our knowledge, we provide the first measurements of GPDMS under in situ UV-inclusive optical conditions.

scholarly journals Differential response of planktonic primary, bacterial, and dimethylsulfide production rates to vertically-moving and static incubations in upper mixed-layer summer sea waters

2013 ◽  
Vol 10 (5) ◽  
pp. 8851-8886 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Galí ◽  
R. Simó ◽  
G. L. Pérez ◽  
C. Ruiz-González ◽  
H. Sarmento ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Primary Production ◽  
Mixed Layer ◽  
Light Exposure ◽  
Spectral Composition ◽  
Total Solar Irradiance ◽  
Depth Range ◽  
Biogeochemical Processes ◽  
Physiological Indicators ◽  
Upper Mixed Layer

Abstract. Microbial plankton experience fluctuations in total solar irradiance and in its spectral composition as they are vertically moved by turbulence in the oceanic upper mixed layer (UML). The fact that the light exposure is not static but dynamic may have important consequences for biogeochemical processes and ocean-atmosphere fluxes. However, most biogeochemical processes other than primary production, like bacterial production or dimethylsulfide (DMS) production, are seldom measured in sunlight and even less often in dynamic light fields. We conducted four experiments in oligotrophic summer stratified Mediterranean waters, where a sample from the UML was incubated in ultraviolet (UV)-transparent bottles at three fixed depths within the UML and on a vertically-moving basket across the same depth range. We assessed the response of the phyto- and bacterioplankton community with physiological indicators based on flow cytometry singe-cell measurements, Fast Repetition Rate fluorometry (FRRf), phytoplankton pigment concentrations and particulate light absorption. Dynamic light exposure caused a disruption of the photoinhibition and photoacclimation processes associated to ultraviolet radiation (UVR), which slightly alleviated bacterial photoinhibition but did not favor primary production. Gross DMS production (GPDMS) decreased sharply with depth in parallel to shortwave UVR, and displayed a dose-dependent response that mixing did not significantly disrupt. To our knowledge, we provide the first measurements of GPDMS under in situ UV-inclusive optical conditions.

Preliminary Studies on the Export of Organic Matter During Phytoplankton Blooms off La Coruña (Northwestern Spain)

1998 ◽  
Vol 78 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-15 ◽  
Author(s):  
Antonio Bode ◽  
Manuel Varela ◽  
Susana Barquero ◽  
Ma Teresa Ossorio-Alvarez ◽  
Nicolás Gonzalez
Keyword(s):  
Organic Matter ◽  
Water Column ◽  
Chlorophyll A ◽  
Phytoplankton Biomass ◽  
Euphotic Zone ◽  
Phytoplankton Blooms ◽  
Coastal Site ◽  
Northwestern Spain ◽  
Western Spain ◽  
North Western

Sinking of particles was measured at a coastal site near La Coruña (north-western Spain) using sedimentation traps placed at the base of the euphotic zone during four short periods between March and June 1995. In addition, measurements of water column properties and particles were made at five stations. The cases studied were representative of the main oceanographic situations that occur in this area and were related to the wind-induced upwelling. Phytoplankton blooms (> 100 mg chlorophyll−a m−2) were observed on two occasions in April and June, both during favourable upwelling conditions. The two other cases were studied during low phytoplankton biomass concentrations in the water column.

scholarly journals Niche partitioning by photosynthetic plankton as a driver of CO2-fixation across the oligotrophic South Pacific Subtropical Ocean

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julia Duerschlag ◽  
Wiebke Mohr ◽  
Timothy G. Ferdelman ◽  
Julie LaRoche ◽  
Dhwani Desai ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mixed Layer ◽  
Niche Partitioning ◽  
Euphotic Zone ◽  
South Pacific ◽  
Niche Differentiation ◽  
Surface Mixed Layer ◽  
The South ◽  
The Core ◽  
Photosynthetic Eukaryotes ◽  
Phytoplankton Communities

AbstractOligotrophic ocean gyre ecosystems may be expanding due to rising global temperatures [1–5]. Models predicting carbon flow through these changing ecosystems require accurate descriptions of phytoplankton communities and their metabolic activities [6]. We therefore measured distributions and activities of cyanobacteria and small photosynthetic eukaryotes throughout the euphotic zone on a zonal transect through the South Pacific Ocean, focusing on the ultraoligotrophic waters of the South Pacific Gyre (SPG). Bulk rates of CO2 fixation were low (0.1 µmol C l−1 d−1) but pervasive throughout both the surface mixed-layer (upper 150 m), as well as the deep chlorophyll a maximum of the core SPG. Chloroplast 16S rRNA metabarcoding, and single-cell 13CO2 uptake experiments demonstrated niche differentiation among the small eukaryotes and picocyanobacteria. Prochlorococcus abundances, activity, and growth were more closely associated with the rims of the gyre. Small, fast-growing, photosynthetic eukaryotes, likely related to the Pelagophyceae, characterized the deep chlorophyll a maximum. In contrast, a slower growing population of photosynthetic eukaryotes, likely comprised of Dictyochophyceae and Chrysophyceae, dominated the mixed layer that contributed 65–88% of the areal CO2 fixation within the core SPG. Small photosynthetic eukaryotes may thus play an underappreciated role in CO2 fixation in the surface mixed-layer waters of ultraoligotrophic ecosystems.

Photoinhibition of DCMU-Enhanced Fluorescence in Lake Ontario Phytoplankton

1987 ◽  
Vol 44 (12) ◽  
pp. 2144-2154 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Putt ◽  
G. P. Harris ◽  
R. L. Cuhel
Keyword(s):  
Vertical Mixing ◽  
Natural Populations ◽  
Bright Light ◽  
Euphotic Zone ◽  
Lake Ontario ◽  
Enhanced Fluorescence ◽  
Low Light ◽  
Light Levels ◽  
Phosphorus Status

Measurement of 1-(3,4-dichlorophenyl)-1,1-dimethylurea (DCMU) enhanced fluorescence (FDCMU) suggested that photoinhibition of photosynthesis was frequently an artifact of in situ bottle incubations in Lake Ontario phytoplankton. In a seasonal study, FDCMU of all populations was depressed by bright light in an incubator. However, when the euphotic zone did not exceed the depth of the mixed layer, vertical transport of phytoplankton into either low-light or dark regions apparently allowed reversal of photoinhibition of FDCMU. Advantages of FDCMU as a bioassay of vertical mixing include rapidity of response time, ease of measurement in the field, and insensitivity of this parameter to changes in phosphorus status of the population. Because of seasonal changes in the photoadaptive response of natural populations, the rate constants and threshold light levels required to cause the response must be determined at each use if the method is to be quantitative.

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