Articles | Volume 11, issue 2
https://doi.org/10.5194/os-11-251-2015
https://doi.org/10.5194/os-11-251-2015
Research article
 | 
13 Mar 2015
Research article |  | 13 Mar 2015

A geographical and seasonal comparison of nitrogen uptake by phytoplankton in the Southern Ocean

R. Philibert, H. Waldron, and D. Clark

Related subject area

Approach: In situ Observations | Depth range: Surface | Geographical range: Deep Seas: Southern Ocean | Phenomena: Biological Processes
Dimethylsulfoniopropionate (DMSP) and dimethyl sulfide (DMS) cycling across contrasting biological hotspots of the New Zealand subtropical front
Martine Lizotte, Maurice Levasseur, Cliff S. Law, Carolyn F. Walker, Karl A. Safi, Andrew Marriner, and Ronald P. Kiene
Ocean Sci., 13, 961–982, https://doi.org/10.5194/os-13-961-2017,https://doi.org/10.5194/os-13-961-2017, 2017
Short summary
Phytoplankton distribution and nitrogen dynamics in the southwest indian subtropical gyre and Southern Ocean waters
S. J. Thomalla, H. N. Waldron, M. I. Lucas, J. F. Read, I. J. Ansorge, and E. Pakhomov
Ocean Sci., 7, 113–127, https://doi.org/10.5194/os-7-113-2011,https://doi.org/10.5194/os-7-113-2011, 2011

Cited articles

Ansorge, I., Speich, S., Lutjeharms, J., Goni, G., Rautenbach, C. d. W., Froneman, P., Rouault, M., and Garzoli, S.: Monitoring the oceanic flow between Africa and Antarctica: report of the first GoodHope cruise : research in action, S. Afr. J. Sci., 101, 29–35, 2005.
Behrenfeld, M. J.: Abandoning Sverdrup's Critical Depth Hypothesis on phytoplankton blooms, Ecology, 91, 977–989, https://doi.org/10.1890/09-1207.1, 2010.
Berman-Frank, I., Cullen, J. T., Shaked, Y., Sherrell, R. M., and Falkowski, P. G.: Iron availability, cellular iron quotas, and nitrogen fixation in Trichodesmium, Limnol. Oceanogr., 46, 1249–1260, https://doi.org/10.4319/lo.2001.46.6.1249, 2001.
Bianchi, M., Feliatra, F., Tréguer, P., Vincendeau, M.-A., and Morvan, J.: Nitrification rates, ammonium and nitrate distribution in upper layers of the water column and in sediments of the Indian sector of the Southern Ocean, Deep-Sea Res. Pt. II, 44, 1017–1032, https://doi.org/10.1016/S0967-0645(96)00109-9, 1997.
Bissett, W., Walsh, J., Dieterle, D., and Carder, K.: Carbon cycling in the upper waters of the Sargasso Sea: I. Numerical simulation of differential carbon and nitrogen fluxes, Deep-Sea Res. Pt. I, 46, 205–269, https://doi.org/10.1016/S0967-0637(98)00062-4, 1999.
Download
Short summary
Phytoplankton contribute to the regulation of the Earth's climate. In this study, we investigated the factors which affect the amount of nitrogen that phytoplankton in the Southern Ocean are able to use for their growth. We collected data during a winter cruise and a summer cruise. We found that in winter, day light and the amount of ammonium (a nitrogenous nutrient) were the two most important factors. In summer, it seems that the influx of nutrients (such as iron) plays a major role.