| An Optical Index of Phytoplankton Photoacclimation and Its Relation to Light-Saturated Photosynthesis in the Sea Contributor(s): Behrenfeld, Michael J. (Author), Nasa Technical Reports Server (Ntrs) (Created by), Et Al (Created by) |
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ISBN: 1287292186 ISBN-13: 9781287292180 Publisher: Bibliogov OUR PRICE: $14.96 Product Type: Paperback Published: August 2013 |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - Political Science |
| Physical Information: 0.07" H x 7.44" W x 9.69" (0.17 lbs) 32 pages |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
| Publisher Description: In relation to understanding ocean biology at the global scale, one of NASA's primary foci has been measurements of near-surface concentrations of phytoplankton chlorophyll. Chlorophyll is an important light-absorbing pigment in phytoplankton. The absorbed light energy is used to fix carbon in the process of photosynthesis. Photosynthesis, in turn, is critical to the growth of phytoplankton and the function of entire marine ecosystems. Thus, the use of satellite surface chlorophyll data to estimate primary production in the ocean has been a key focus of much biological oceanography research. One of the major challenges in this research is to develop relationships that allow a given chlorophyll concentration (a standing stock) to be interpreted in terms of carbon fixation (a rate). This problem centers on the description of the light-saturated photosynthetic rate, Pbmax. In this paper, we describe how optical measurements of light attenuation provide information on particulate organic carbon (POC) concentrations. We then show how the ratio of POC to chlorophyll (Theta) provides critical information on variability in Pbmax. We then test this relationship between Theta and Pbmax using field data from a variety of open ocean ecosystems. |