Photosynthetic performance and productivity of phytoplankton in the Southern Ocean ...

• Main Author: Cheah, W
• Format: Thesis
• Language: unknown
• Published: University Of Tasmania 2023
• Subjects: Southern Ocean
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.25959/23247833; https://figshare.utas.edu.au/articles/thesis/Photosynthetic_performance_and_productivity_of_phytoplankton_in_the_Southern_Ocean/23247833

Marine phytoplankton account for approximately half of global primary production, an amount equivalent to their terrestrial counterpart. These short-lived organisms, with turnover rates between one and three weeks, support nearly all life in the ocean and have a profound effect on global biogeochemical cycles and climate. The connection between marine phytoplankton and climate is intimate and changes to either will profoundly affect the other. Over the years, due to high operational costs and distance from major human settlements, the Southern Ocean has been the least studied ocean, despite its signicance in the distribution of nutrients to the world oceans, especially the lower latitudes, and controlling global climate. In order to capture the response of the phytoplankton to environmental change across the vast Southern Ocean, a method with high spatio-temporal resolution is desirable. By focusing on the Australian sector of the Southern Ocean, this dissertation examines the productivity and physiology of ...