Picophytoplankton biomass distribution in the global ocean

• Published in: Earth System Science Data
• Main Authors: Buitenhuis, E. T., Li, W. K. W., Vaulot, Daniel, Lomas, M. W., Landry, M. R., Partensky, Frédéric, Karl, D. M., Ulloa, O., Campbell, L., Jacquet, S., Lantoine, F., Chavez, F., Macias, D., Gosselin, M., Mcmanus, G. B.
• Other Authors: Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research and School of Environmental Sciences, University of East Anglia Norwich (UEA), Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Bedford Institute of Oceanography, Diversité et Interactions au sein du Plancton Océanique (DIPO), Adaptation et diversité en milieu marin (AD2M), Station biologique de Roscoff Roscoff (SBR), Université Pierre et Marie Curie - Paris 6 (UPMC)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Pierre et Marie Curie - Paris 6 (UPMC)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Station biologique de Roscoff Roscoff (SBR), Université Pierre et Marie Curie - Paris 6 (UPMC)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Pierre et Marie Curie - Paris 6 (UPMC)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Bermuda Institute of Ocean Sciences (BIOS), Scripps Institution of Oceanography (SIO - UC San Diego), University of California San Diego (UC San Diego), University of California (UC)-University of California (UC), MArine Phototrophic Prokaryotes (MAPP), Department of Oceanography, University of Hawaii, Departmento de Oceanografía & Centro de Investigación Oceanográfica en el Pacífico Sur-Oriental, Universidad de Concepción - University of Concepcion Chile, Department of Oceanography College Station, Texas A&M University College Station, Centre Alpin de Recherche sur les Réseaux Trophiques et Ecosystèmes Limniques (CARRTEL), Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-Université Savoie Mont Blanc (USMB Université de Savoie Université de Chambéry ), Observatoire océanologique de Banyuls (OOB), Université Pierre et Marie Curie - Paris 6 (UPMC)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI), Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute, Department of Coastal Ecology and Management, Institute of Marine Sciences of Andalusia, Institut des Sciences de la MER de Rimouski (ISMER), Université du Québec à Rimouski (UQAR), Department of Marine sciences, University of Connecticut (UCONN), U (CarboChange) 264879; Networks of Centres of Excellence of Canada-ArcticNet
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: HAL CCSD 2012
• Subjects: [SDE.BE]Environmental Sciences/Biodiversity and Ecology; Indian; Pacific; North Atlantic
• Online Access: https://hal.science/hal-00939662; https://hal.science/hal-00939662/document; https://hal.science/hal-00939662/file/essd-4-37-2012.pdf; https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-4-37-2012

Discution publié dans Earth Syst. Sci. Data Discuss. The smallest marine phytoplankton, collectively termed picophytoplankton, have been routinely enumerated by flow cytometry since the late 1980s, during cruises throughout most of the world ocean. We compiled a database of 40 946 data points, with separate 5 abundance entries for Prochlorococcus, Synechococcus and picoeukaryotes. We use average conversion factors for each of the three groups to convert the abundance data to carbon biomass. After gridding with 1 spacing, the database covers 2.4% of the ocean surface area, with the best data coverage in the North Atlantic, the South Pacific and North Indian basins. The average picophytoplankton biomass is 12±22 μgCl−1 or 10 1.9 gCm−2. We estimate a total global picophytoplankton biomass of 0.53-0.74PgC (17-39% Prochlorococcus, 12-15% Synechococcus and 49-69% picoeukaryotes).Future efforts in this area of research should focus on reporting calibrated cell size, and collecting data in undersampled regions.