Phytoplankton distribution

The refinements made to the entire model setup include a higher model resolution, the implementation of most recent ECH AM, MPIOM and HAMOCC versions, the usage of assimilated satelhte data for surface phytoplankton distribution, and the usage of a more realistic description of sinking organic matter in the ocean. 

Phytoplankton is at one of the initial levels of the trophic hierarchy of the ocean system. As field observations have shown, the World Ocean has a patchy structure formed by a combination of non-uniform spatial distributions of insolation, temperature, salinity, concentration of nutrient elements, hydrodynamic characteristics, etc. The vertical structure of phytoplankton distribution is less diverse and possesses rather universal properties. These properties are manifested by the existence of one to four vertical maxima of phytoplankton biomass. 

Plankton patchiness is widely acknowledged as a ubiquitous and key feature of marine ecosystems (Martin 2003). Many organisms have been shown to exploit patches of food (e.g., Tiselius 1992), and patch formation may be important in the foraging success of many marine invertebrates (Seuront et al. 2001) and vertebrates (Cartamil and Lowe 2004), as well as for the sexual encounters among individuals of relatively rare species (Buskey 1998). While the quantification of the spatial and temporal structure of phytoplankton distributions has for the most part focussed on empirical observations at scales greater... 

Rojas de Mendiola, B. (1981). Seasonal phytoplankton distribution along the Peruvian coast. In Coastal Upwelling. (Richards, F. A., ed.). American Geophysical Union, pp. 348—357. 

N SITU SENSING TECHNIQUES ARE HIGHLY DESIRED in occanography. This chapter describes a method for measuring phytoplankton distribution by using optical fiber cables with laser techniques. The technique may be applicable for measuring the distribution, abundance, and size of phytoplankton for most areas of the oceans. 

In a mixed water column (or mixed layer) with relatively high values of K, the model generates a uniform phytoplankton distribution throughout the column/layer, independent of production, light attenuation, or distribution of grazing organisms. 

For investigating the horizontal component of phytoplankton distribution, we consider only surface samples or depth-integrated samples of the upper 10 m. Three main gradients have to be distinguished in this horizontal pattern ... 

E.W. Helbling, V.E. Villafane, O. Holm-Hansen (1995). Variability of phytoplankton distribution and primary production around Elephant Island, Antarctica, during 1990-1993. Polar Biol., 15, 233-246. 

Yahel, G., Post, A.F., Fabricius, K., Marie, D., Vaulot, D. and Genin, A. (1998) Phytoplankton distribution and grazing near coral reefs. Limnology and Oceanography, 43, 551-563. 

Berman, T., Azov, Y., Schneller, A., Walline, P. and Townsend, D.W. (1986) Extent, transparency and phytoplankton distribution of the neritic waters overlying the Israeli coastal shelf. Oceanologica Acta, 9, 439-447. 

Jones, K.J., Gowen, RJ. and Tett, P. (1984) Water-column structure and summer phytoplankton distribution in the Sound of Jura. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology, 78, 269-289. 

Lauria, M.L., Purdie, D.A. and Sharpies, J. (1999) Contrasting phytoplankton distributions controlled by tidal turbulence in an estuary. Journal of Marine Systems, 21, 189—197. 

Pingree, R.D., Holligan, P.M. and Mardell, G.T. (1978). The effects of vertical stability on phytoplankton distributions in the summer on the Northwest European Shelf. Deep-Sea Research, 25, 1011-1028. 

The concentrations of the principal elements in marine and freshwaters are given in Figure 11. The concentrations of biologically regulated components, ie, C, N, P, and Si, vary with depth and are markedly influenced by the growth, distribution, and decay of phytoplankton and other organisms. The concentrations of other constituents, especially the salts, ie, Cl ,, and, are remarkably constant and are different from those in fresh... 

The results of two successful iron-fertilization experiments in the eastern equatorial Pacific have clearly shown that phytoplankton growth rate is limited by iron at that location (Martin et al., 1994 Coale et al., 1996). The species composition and size distributions of the ecosystem are influenced by iron availability (Landry et al., 1997). In particular, large diatoms do not grow at optimum rates in the absence of sufficient iron. Loukos et al. (1997) used a simple... 

Recently, the ocean-basin distribution of marine biomass and productivity has been estimated by satellite remote sensing. Ocean color at different wavelengths is determined and used to estimate near-surface phytoplankton chlorophyll concentration. Production is then estimated from chlorophyll using either in situ calibration relationships or from empirical functional algorithms (e.g., Platt and Sathyendranth, 1988 Field et al., 1998). Such studies reveal a tremendous amount of temporal and spatial variability in ocean biological production. 

To understand the distribution and pathways of organic material in the ocean the key question is "What happens to that 99% of the phytoplankton biomass that is remineralized between photosynthesis and burial "... 

It is important to note however that Equation (10) assumes steady state in the Th distribution so that production truly is balanced by decay and export. It is easy to imagine a scenario after a phytoplankton bloom, when the export of POC (and " Th) has decreased or even ceased, such that the water column " Th profile would still show a deficit with respect to caused by prior high flux events. This relief deficit will disappear as " Th grows into equilibrium with on a time scale set by the " Th half-life. The magnitude by which the Th flux is over- or under-estimated depends on whether deficits are increasing or decreasing and at what rate. 

Niven SEH, Kepkay PE, Boraie A (1995) Colloidal organic carbon and colloidal dynamics during a coastal phytoplankton bloom. Deep-Sea Res II 42 257-273 Nozaki Y, Thomson J, Turekian KK (1976) The distribution of Pb-210 and Po-210 in the surface waters of the Pacific Ocean. Earth Planet Sci Lett 32 304-312... 

Distribution of241 Am in a dialysis system containing sediment, phytoplankton, and detrital matter established that a substantial amount of americium accumulated in all three phases both in fresh and marine waters (NRC 1981). The adsorption process was not reversible and the longer the americium was adsorbed, the more difficult the chemical was to desorb. Appreciable amounts of americium have been shown to adsorb to bacterial cells such as those found in the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in New Mexico (Francis et al. 1998). There is a potential that americium attached to biocolloids may facilitate its transport from the waste site. 

How strong is the impact of different representations of suspended organic matter on the distribution of biogenic tracers (phytoplankton, zooplankton, organic carbon) Do the representations indeed lead to more realistic distributions of these tracers ... 

Differences in chlorophyll concentrations between present and past records in the lower part of the Ebro do not correspond with significant changes in the distribution of phytoplankton assemblages. The general trends in the distribution of phytoplankton communities appear to be consistent with those reported in previous surveys, at least in the lower part of the river. Centric diatoms such as Aulacoseira granulata, Cyclotella sp. and Stephanodiscus sp. were dominant in autumn, spring, and early summer 1989-1990, while Scenedesmus sp., Coelastrum sp., and Pediastrum sp. were most abundant in the summer of that period [7]. 

Riley, J.P. and I. Roth. 1971. The distribution of trace elements in some species of phytoplankton grown in culture. Jour. Mar. Biol. Assoc. U.K. 51 63-72. 

Arsenic geochemistry in Chesapeake Bay, Maryland, depends on anthropogenic inputs and phytoplankton species composition (Sanders 1985). Inputs of anthropogenic arsenic into Chesapeake Bay are estimated at 100 kg daily, or 39 tons/year — probably from sources such as unreported industrial discharges, use of arsenical herbicides, and from wood preservatives (Sanders 1985). The chemical form of the arsenic in solution varies seasonally and along the axis of the bay. Arsenic is present only as arsenate in winter, but substantial quantities of reduced and methylated forms are present in summer in different areas. The forms and distribution patterns of arsenic... 

One role of cyanobacterial allelochemicals may be to alter the motility and distribution of competing photoautotrophs. In a recent study, Kearns and Hunter (2001) examined the effects of toxic metabolites from the filamentous cyanobacterium A. flos-aquae on a unicellular phytoplankton species, Chlamydomonas rein-hardtii. A. flos-aquae synthesizes both microcystins as well as anatoxins, providing the authors with an ecologically relevant opportunity to assess the individual and combinatorial effects of these toxins on an alga. 

R. Riegman and G.W. Kraay, Phytoplankton community structure derived from HPLC analysis of pigments in the Faroe-Shetland Channel during summer, 1999 the distribution of taxonomic groups in relation to physical/chemical condition in the photic zone. J. Plankton Res. 23 (2001) 191-206. 

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