A global compilation of coccolithophore calcification rates

• Published in: Earth System Science Data
• Main Authors: Daniels, Chris J., Poulton, Alex J., Balch, William M., Marañon, Emilio, Bowler, Bruce C., Cermeño, Pedro, Charalampopoulou, Anastasia, Crawford, David W., Drapeau, Dave, Feng, Yuanyuan, Fernández, Ana, Fernández, Emilio, Fragoso, Glaucia M., González, Natalia, Graziano, Lisa M., Heslop, Rachel, Holligan, Patrick M., Hopkins, Jason, Huete-Ortega, María, Hutchins, David A., Lam, Phoebe J., Lipsen, Michael S., López-Sandoval, Daffne C., Loucaides, Socratis, Marchetti, Adrian, Mayers, Kyle M. J., Rees, Andrew P., Sobrino, Cristina, Tynan, Eithne, Tyrrell, Toby
• Other Authors: Red Sea Research Center (RSRC), National Oceanography Centre, Southampton, SO14 3ZH, , United Kingdom, Lyell Centre for Earth and Marine Sciences and Technology, Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh, EH14 4AS, , United Kingdom, Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences, East Boothbay, ME, 04544, , United States, Departamento de Ecología y Biología Animal, Universidad de Vigo, Vigo, 36310, , Spain, Ocean and Earth Science, National Oceanography Centre Southampton, University of Southampton, Southampton, SO14 3ZH, , , United Kingdom, Instituto de Cièncias Del Mar, CSIC, Barcelona, E08003, , , Spain, Department of Biology, University of Victoria, Victoria, BC, V8W 2YA, , Canada, Climate Chemistry Laboratory, Institute of Ocean Sciences, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, P.O. Box 6000, Sidney, BC, V8L 4B2, , , Canada, Tianjin University of Science and Technology, Tianjin Shi, 300457, , China, Trondhjem Biological Station, Department of Biology, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, 7491, , Norway, Biodiversity and Conservation Area, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, Madrid, 28933, , Spain, Department of Plant Sciences, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB2 3EA, , United Kingdom, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, 90089, , United States, Department of Ocean Sciences, University of California, Santa Cruz, CA, 95064, , United States, Department of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, V6T 1Z4, , Canada, Department of Marine Sciences, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599, , United States, Plymouth Marine Laboratory, Prospect Place, West Hoe, Plymouth, PL1 3DH, , United Kingdom
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: unknown
• Published: Copernicus GmbH 2018
• Subjects: Arctic
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10754/629956; https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-10-1859-2018

The biological production of calcium carbonate (CaCO3), a process termed calcification, is a key term in the marine carbon cycle. A major planktonic group responsible for such pelagic CaCO3 production (CP) is the coccolithophores, single-celled haptophytes that inhabit the euphotic zone of the ocean. Satellitebased estimates of areal CP are limited to surface waters and open-ocean areas, with current algorithms utilising the unique optical properties of the cosmopolitan bloom-forming species Emiliania huxleyi, whereas little understanding of deep-water ecology, optical properties or environmental responses by species other than E. huxleyi is currently available to parameterise algorithms or models. To aid future areal estimations and validate future modelling efforts we have constructed a database of 2765 CP measurements, the majority of which were measured using 12 to 24 h incorporation of radioactive carbon (14C) into acid-labile inorganic carbon (CaCO3). We present data collated from over 30 studies covering the period from 1991 to 2015, sampling the Atlantic, Pacific, Indian, Arctic and Southern oceans. Globally, CP in surface waters (< 20 m) ranged from 0.01 to 8398 μmol Cm3 d1 (with a geometric mean of 16.1 μmol Cm3 d1). An integral value for the upper euphotic zone (herein surface to the depth of 1% surface irradiance) ranged from < 0:1 to 6 mmol Cm2 d1 (geometric mean 1.19 mmol Cm2 d1). The full database is available for download from PANGAEA at https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.888182. The authors wish to thank the research scientists, technicians, students and crew who contributed to the collection of these data. The authors also recognise funding from the UK Natural Environmental Research Council (NERC), the US National Science Foundation (NSF), the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), and the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation.