Variations in the water column photosynthetic cross section for Antarctic coastal waters

Herve Claustre; Mark Moline; Barbara Prezelin

doi:10.1117/12.266412

6 February 1997 Variations in the water column photosynthetic cross section for Antarctic coastal waters

Herve Claustre, Mark Moline, Barbara Prezelin

Proceedings Volume 2963, Ocean Optics XIII; (1997) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.266412
Event: Ocean Optics XIII, 1996, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada

Abstract

Using a highly resolved LTER database collected near Palmer Station, Antarctica, from 1991-1994, the variability in the column photosynthetic cross section ((Psi) , m², g Chl a^-1) was analyzed. For the whole dataset, (Psi) had an average value of 0.0695 m² g Chl a^-1 but extreme values extended over a 50-fold range. A six-fold variation in (Psi) was observed with time of year and was strongly associated with the high seasonality in incident irradiance characteristic of these polar sampling sties. Variability in daily incident irradiance as influenced by cloudiness and variation in chlorophyll content were responsible for an additional two-fold variation in (Psi) . Finally, the taxonomic dependency of (Psi) was demonstrated for the first time. For identical chlorophyll content and surface irradiance, mean (Psi) value of 0.114 +/- 0.051 m² g Chl a^-1 were recorded for diatom blooms and 0.052 +/- 0.011 m² g Chl a^-1 for cryptophyte- dominated populations. Results illustrate the validity of (Psi) -based approaches for estimating primary production for the Southern Ocean but emphasize the need to address taxon- specific photophysiology to better estimate primary production on smaller spatio-temporal scales.

Citation Download Citation

Herve Claustre, Mark Moline, and Barbara Prezelin "Variations in the water column photosynthetic cross section for Antarctic coastal waters", Proc. SPIE 2963, Ocean Optics XIII, (6 February 1997); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.266412

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