Large Yearly Production of Phytoplankton in the Western Bering Strait

• Published in: Science
• Main Authors: Sambrotto, R. N., Goering, J. J., McRoy, C. P.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) 1984
• Subjects: Bering Sea; Bering Strait
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.225.4667.1147; https://www.science.org/doi/pdf/10.1126/science.225.4667.1147

Production in the western Bering Strait is estimated at 324 grams of carbon per square meter per year over 2.12 × 10 4 square kilometers. An ice-reduced growing season makes this large amount of primary production unexpected, but it is consistent with the area's large upper trophic level stocks. The productivity is fueled by a cross-shelf flow of nutrient-rich water from the Bering Sea continental slope. This phytoplankton production system from June through September is analogous to a laboratory continuous culture.