Chlorophyll and phaeopigments from water column samples, collected at selected depths at Palmer Station Antarctica, during the Palmer LTER field seasons, 1991 – 2019.

• Main Authors: LTER, Palmer Station Antarctica, Schofield, Oscar, Vernet, Maria, Smith, Raymond
• Format: Dataset
• Language: English
• Published: Environmental Data Initiative 2020
• Subjects: Palmer Station; Palmer-Station; Antarc*; Antarctica
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.6073/pasta/09a1f2cc150b547e3c9b20c39e10cfc2; https://portal.edirepository.org/nis/mapbrowse?packageid=knb-lter-pal.126.7

Phytoplankton chlorophyll sampling was led by Smith from the 1991-1992 season through the 2001-2002 season, and then by Vernet from the 2002-2003 season through the 2006-2007 season. Schofield is the third, and current lead, beginning in the 2008-2009 season. Methods have been kept consistent as much as possible over the full time series and different Principal Investigators. Chlorophyll a (Chl a) is the principal photosynthetic pigment of phytoplankton, and is used as a proxy measurement for estimating phytoplankton biomass in water samples. Chl a concentrations reflect the distribution of active phytoplankton spatially and with depth in the water column and their changes over time. Phaeopigments are non-photosynthetic pigments that are degradation products of phytoplankton chlorophylls which form during and after phytoplankton blooms. Water samples are collected throughout the water column at stations within the Palmer LTER region (primarily B and E, to 50m and 65m respectively). Water samples are filtered onto GF/F filters, and filters kept frozen at -80°C until analysis. Fluorometric chlorophyll and phaeopigment analysis is conducted at Palmer Station through acetone extraction of the GF/F filters and measurement of the extract on a Turner 10AU Fluorometer. The primary source of error for phaeopigment measurement is Chlorophyll b. If high amounts of Chlorophyll b are present in the sample, phaeopigments may be overestimated.