Coccolithophore size, abundance and calcification across Drake Passage (Southern Ocean), 2009 ...

Although coccolithophores are not as numerically common or as diverse in the Southern Ocean as they are in subpolar waters of the North Atlantic, a few species, such as Emiliania huxleyi, are found during the summer months. Little is actually known about the calcite production (CP) of these communit...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Tyrrell, Toby, Charalampopoulou, Anastasia
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: PANGAEA 2009
Subjects:
Online Access:https://dx.doi.org/10.1594/pangaea.771715
https://doi.pangaea.de/10.1594/PANGAEA.771715
Description
Summary:Although coccolithophores are not as numerically common or as diverse in the Southern Ocean as they are in subpolar waters of the North Atlantic, a few species, such as Emiliania huxleyi, are found during the summer months. Little is actually known about the calcite production (CP) of these communities or how their distribution and physiology relate to environmental variables in this region. In February 2009, we made observations across Drake Passage (between South America and the Antarctic Peninsula) of coccolithophore distribution, CP, primary production, chlorophyll a and macronutrient concentrations, irradiance and carbonate chemistry. Although CP represented less than 1 % of total carbon fixation, coccolithophores were widespread across Drake Passage. The B/C morphotype of E. huxleyi was the dominant coccolithophore, with low estimates of coccolith calcite (~0.01 pmol C coccolith-1) from biometric measurements. Both cell-normalised calcification (0.01-0.16 pmol C cell-1 d-1) and total CP (< 20 µmol C ... : This data was collected during a cruise across Drake Passage in the Southern Ocean in February 2009. This data consists of coccolithophore abundance, calcification and primary production rates, carbonate chemistry parameters and ancillary data of macronutrients, chlorophyll-a, average mixed layer irradiance, daily irradiance above the sea surface, euphotic and mixed layer depth, temperature and salinity. ...