Bacterial properties in discrete water column samples at selected depths, collected aboard Palmer LTER annual cruises off the coast of the Western Antarctica Peninsula, 2003 - 2017.
The microbial biogeochemistry component of PAL focuses on marine bacterioplankton, and is thus a counterpart to the phytoplankton and zooplankton components, which together provide a detailed and comprehensive description of plankton ecology in PAL-LTER. Bacteria and Archaea (hereafter called "...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Dataset |
| Language: | English |
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Environmental Data Initiative
2019
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| Online Access: | https://dx.doi.org/10.6073/pasta/7bcc4be036e1d38c502386003752e261 https://portal.edirepository.org/nis/mapbrowse?packageid=knb-lter-pal.48.6 |
| Summary: | The microbial biogeochemistry component of PAL focuses on marine bacterioplankton, and is thus a counterpart to the phytoplankton and zooplankton components, which together provide a detailed and comprehensive description of plankton ecology in PAL-LTER. Bacteria and Archaea (hereafter called "bacteria") are taxonomically and metabolically diverse. In coastal and offshore surface waters Bacteria generally predominate over Archaea, but Archaea are equal or greater in abundance in the mesopelagic layer below the euphoric zone. We focus on aerobic, heterotrophic bacteria in the upper 100 m on the annual summer cruise. These bacteria oxidize recently-produced low molecular weight dissolved organic compounds released by phytoplankton and zooplankton, decomposing them back into CO2 and inorganic nutrients. Globally, marine bacteria respire an amount of carbon roughly equal to about half the daily photosynthetic production. In cold polar waters, relative bacterial activity is lower, with bacterial biomass production being equal to <5% of the daily photosynthesis. The ratio at lower latitudes is 10-20%. The factors responsible for this contrast are not entirely clear. Resolving this pattern is a key aim of the PAL microbial component. Bacterial production is generally low across the grid, relative to primary production, but with considerable spatial and annual variability. Discrete BP can reach >200mgC/m2/d following bloom-fueled high organic matter events. Across the grid and over years, BP is highly correlated with chlorophyll, highlighting the close relationship with phytoplanktonic organic matter production. |
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