| Summary: | Phytoplankton primary production (PP) plays a major role in the uptake of oceanic carbon and is hence a key process for the carbon cycle. Traditionally PP models have always included some parameterisation of chlorophyll. However, chlorophyll retrieval can be complicated in Case 2 regions, usually coastal areas, where the chlorophyll estimated from the satellite sensor may be impaired by other substances. The resulting overestimation of chlorophyll then perpetuates through to PP models, causing inaccuracies in the estimate. Results of a new Inherent Optical Property (IOP) based spectral model are presented. The model is a triple integral of wavelength, depth and day length with the dependency on chlorophyll concentration estimates removed by replacing the chlorophyll parameter with absorption by phytoplankton. A basin mask, applied to the model output, delineated yearly and monthly PP values for the globe and 24 sub-regions globally, including the
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