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The contrasting effects of organic phytoplankton production and calcification on surface ocean carbon dioxide and oxygen concentrations

The contrasting effects of organic phytoplankton production and calcification on surface ocean carbon dioxide and oxygen concentrations
The contrasting effects of organic phytoplankton production and calcification on surface ocean carbon dioxide and oxygen concentrations

Much interest has been focused on the oceans as an ameliorating influence on the "Greenhouse Effect" due to their capacity as a sink for atmospheric CO2. Results presented in this thesis focus on the effects that marine phytoplankton have on the ability of the oceans to take up carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

Experiments involving laboratory based analyses of phytoplankton cultures as well as ship based experiments using natural populations of non-calcifying and calcifying species were conducted using the techniques of gas chromatography, infra red gas analysis and for the first time, an ion selective electrode to measure the changes in carbon dioxide concentration. A pulsed electrode system in conjunction with a precise Winkler assay was used for the determination of dissolved oxygen.

Results indicate that phytoplankton occurring in dense blooms gradually reduce surface pCO2 levels and, hence, have a sizeable effect on the capacity of the oceans to act as a sink for atmospheric CO2. During the Spring Phytoplankton Bloom in 1990 in the N.E. Atlantic, phytoplankton were responsible for a decrease in sea surface pCO2 of 175ppm. During a bloom of coccolithophorids in the northern North Atlantic during Summer 1991 the mean air sea difference in pCO2 was reduced by a mean of 15ppm.

Measurements of dissolved oxygen showed an increase in saturation values for the period before and after the bloom and indicated that phytoplankton were acting as a source of oxygen to the surface waters of the N.E. Atlantic Ocean. Measurements were carried out for the first time using gas chromatography to determine the changes in pCO2 in incubated water samples used to derive rates of primary production in the surface waters of the North Atlantic.

University of Southampton
Finch, Miles Spencer
31bb41d2-2440-4ab1-8d5c-8696d06304af
Finch, Miles Spencer
31bb41d2-2440-4ab1-8d5c-8696d06304af

Finch, Miles Spencer (1994) The contrasting effects of organic phytoplankton production and calcification on surface ocean carbon dioxide and oxygen concentrations. University of Southampton, Doctoral Thesis.

Record type: Thesis (Doctoral)

Abstract

Much interest has been focused on the oceans as an ameliorating influence on the "Greenhouse Effect" due to their capacity as a sink for atmospheric CO2. Results presented in this thesis focus on the effects that marine phytoplankton have on the ability of the oceans to take up carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

Experiments involving laboratory based analyses of phytoplankton cultures as well as ship based experiments using natural populations of non-calcifying and calcifying species were conducted using the techniques of gas chromatography, infra red gas analysis and for the first time, an ion selective electrode to measure the changes in carbon dioxide concentration. A pulsed electrode system in conjunction with a precise Winkler assay was used for the determination of dissolved oxygen.

Results indicate that phytoplankton occurring in dense blooms gradually reduce surface pCO2 levels and, hence, have a sizeable effect on the capacity of the oceans to act as a sink for atmospheric CO2. During the Spring Phytoplankton Bloom in 1990 in the N.E. Atlantic, phytoplankton were responsible for a decrease in sea surface pCO2 of 175ppm. During a bloom of coccolithophorids in the northern North Atlantic during Summer 1991 the mean air sea difference in pCO2 was reduced by a mean of 15ppm.

Measurements of dissolved oxygen showed an increase in saturation values for the period before and after the bloom and indicated that phytoplankton were acting as a source of oxygen to the surface waters of the N.E. Atlantic Ocean. Measurements were carried out for the first time using gas chromatography to determine the changes in pCO2 in incubated water samples used to derive rates of primary production in the surface waters of the North Atlantic.

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Published date: 1994

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 458664
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/458664
PURE UUID: e997543e-0ece-4121-ac1e-1d39ba5b5007

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Date deposited: 04 Jul 2022 16:53
Last modified: 23 Jul 2022 00:21

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Contributors

Author: Miles Spencer Finch

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