FIReglider: mapping in situ chlorophyll variable fluorescence with autonomous underwater gliders

• Published in: Limnology and Oceanography: Methods
• Main Authors: Carvalho, Filipa, Gorbunov, Maxim Y., Oliver, Matthew J., Haskins, Christina, Aragon, David, Kohut, Josh, Schofield, Oscar M. E.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: unknown
• Published: Association for the Sciences of Limnology and Oceanography 2020
• Subjects: Southern Ocean
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/1912/26062

© The Author(s), [year]. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in Carvalho, F., Gorbunov, M. Y., Oliver, M. J., Haskins, C., Aragon, D., Kohut, J. T., & Schofield, O. FIReglider: mapping in situ chlorophyll variable fluorescence with autonomous underwater gliders. Limnology and Oceanography: Methods, (2020), doi:10.1002/lom3.10380. Nutrient and light availability regulate phytoplankton physiology and photosynthesis in the ocean. These physiological processes are difficult to sample in time and space over physiologically and ecologically relevant scales using traditional shipboard techniques. Gliders are changing the nature of data collection, by allowing a sustained presence at sea over regional scales, collecting data at resolution not possible using traditional techniques. The integration of a fluorescence induction and relaxation (FIRe) sensor in a Slocum glider allows autonomous high‐resolution and vertically‐resolved measurements of photosynthetic physiological variables together with oceanographic data. In situ measurements of variable fluorescence under ambient light allows a better understanding of the physical controls of primary production (PP). We demonstrate this capability in a laboratory setting and with several glider deployments in the Southern Ocean. Development of these approaches will allow for the in situ evaluation of phytoplankton light stress and photoacclimation mechanisms, as well as the role of vertical mixing in phytoplankton dynamics and the underlying physiology, especially in remote locations and for prolonged duration. This work was supported by National Science Foundation (NSF Palmer LTER program, grant 0823101), National Oceanographic Partnership Program (NOPP, grant NA05OAR4601089), and NASA Ocean Biology and Biogeochemistry Program (grants NNX16AT54G and 80NSSC18K1416). Filipa Carvalho was funded by a Portuguese doctoral fellowship from Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (FCT, ...