Affiliation: | (1) National Research Institute of Far Seas Fisheries, Fukuura, Kanazawa, Yokohama 236-8648, Japan;(2) Faculty of Fisheries, Nagasaki University, Bunkyo, Nagasaki 852-8521, Japan |
Abstract: | In order to estimate primary production from ocean color satellite data using the Vertical Generalized Production Model (VGPM; Behrenfeld and Falkowski, 1997), we propose a two-phytoplankton community model. This model is based on the two assumptions that changes in chlorophyll concentration result from changes of large-sized phytoplankton abundance, and chlorophyll specific productivity of phytoplankton tends to be inversely proportional to phytoplankton size. Based on the analysis of primary production data, PoptB, which was one parameter in the VGPM, was modeled as a function of sea surface temperature and sea surface chlorophyll concentration. The two-phytoplankton community model incorporated into the VGPM gave good estimates in a relatively high productive area. Size-fractionated primary production was estimated by the two-phytoplankton community model, and PoptB of small-sized phytoplankton was 4.5 times that of large-sized phytoplankton. This result fell into the ranges observed during field studies. |