Primary Production in the Argentine Sea during Spring Estimated by Field and Satellite Models

LUTZ, V.; SEGURA, V.; DOGLIOTTI, A. I.

JOURNAL OF PLANKTON RESEARCH

Oxford University Press

Año: 2010 vol. 32 p. 181 - 195

0142-7873

In satellite images of the world ocean the Argentine Sea is one of the areas of highestchlorophyll-a (Chl a) concentration. Here we analyze the spatial variability in primaryproduction in relationship to phytoplankton biomass, and some relevant optical andphysical characteristics observed during spring 2005. High Chl a concentrations werefound in frontal areas, mainly at the shelf-break (19.0 mg m23) and Grande Bay(28.6 mg m23), with the lowest values offshore (0.4 mg m23). Integrated productionalso varied widely from 275 to 5480 mg C m22 d21. Variations in the Chl a/invivo-fluorescence, and photosynthetic parameters were related to the absorptioncharacteristics of phytoplankton, indicating the influence of variations in the phytoplanktoncommunity composition. Surface Chl a explained only 51% of the variancein integrated primary production. Neither integrated production, nor the photosyntheticparameters were significantly related to seawater temperature. The simplesatellite model used here resulted in significant underestimation of field primaryproduction values (Absolute Percentage Difference . 50%). Our results indicate thata more adequate satellite model of production, making use of local photosyntheticparameters and vertical distribution of biomass, should be developed for this region.