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Photoadaptive response during the development of a coustal Antarctic diatom bloom and relationship to water column stability
Author(s) -
Moline Mark A.
Publication year - 1998
Publication title -
limnology and oceanography
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.7
H-Index - 197
eISSN - 1939-5590
pISSN - 0024-3590
DOI - 10.4319/lo.1998.43.1.0146
Subject(s) - water column , bloom , irradiance , diatom , phytoplankton , diel vertical migration , environmental science , xanthophyll , chlorophyll a , oceanography , column (typography) , atmospheric sciences , biology , geology , ecology , photosynthesis , botany , physics , optics , mathematics , geometry , connection (principal bundle) , nutrient
The raio of the xanthophylll pigments diadinoxanthin and diatoxanthin to chlorophyll a [(DD+DT}:Chl a ] was used as a photoadaptive index during the development of a large Antarctic diatom bloom. This index was found to track fluctuations in the incident solar irradiance and the in situ light field over a 3 order magnitude change in the water column biomass. Depth profiles of the (DD+DT}:Chl a ratio showed that the upper mixed layer, assessed by physical data, was in fact stable over the course of the month. Diel experiments conducted over the same period showed a delayed (5–8 h) response of the DD+DT pool to the instantaneous Q par (400–700 nm) irradiance. These time series results illustrate the potential use of xanthophyll pigmnents in assessing phytoplankton light histories and the degree of water column stability.