Abundance and size distribution of transparent exopolymer particles (TEP) in a coccolithophorid bloom in the northern Bay of Biscay |
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| Authors: | Jérôme Harlay Caroline De Bodt Anja Engel Sandra Jansen Quentin d’Hoop Judith Piontek Nicolas Van Oostende Steve Groom Koen Sabbe Lei Chou |
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| Institution: | 1. Laboratoire d’Océanographie Chimique et Géochimie des Eaux—Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB)—Campus de la Plaine (Building B/C, 5th level), CP208, boulevard du Triomphe, B-1050 Brussels, Belgium;2. HGF Young Investigators Group, Global change and the future marine carbon cycle—Alfred Wegener Institute (AWI)—Am Handelshafen 12—D-27570 Bremerhaven, Germany;3. Protistology & Aquatic Ecology—Ghent University (UGhent)—Krijgslaan 281-S8, B-9000 Ghent, Belgium;4. Remote Sensing Group—Plymouth Marine Laboratory (PML)—Prospect Place, The Hoe, Plymouth PL1 3DH, UK |
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| Abstract: | The distribution of transparent exopolymer particles (TEP) was investigated during a coccolithophorid bloom in the northern Bay of Biscay (North Atlantic Ocean) in early June 2006. MODIS chlorophyll-a (Chl-a) and reflectance images before and during the cruise were used to localize areas of important biological activity and high reflectance (HR). TEP profiles along the continental margin, determined using microscopic (TEPmicro) and colorimetric (TEPcolor) methods, showed abundant (6.1×106–4.4×107 L?1) and relatively small (0.5–20 μm) particles, leading to a low total volume fraction (0.05–2.2 ppm) of TEPmicro and similar vertical profiles of TEPcolor. Estimates of carbon content in TEP (TEP-C) derived from the microscopic approach yielded surface concentration of 1.50 μmol C L?1. The contribution of TEP-C to particulate organic carbon (POC) was estimated to be 12% (molar C ratio) during this survey. Our results suggest that TEP formation is a probable first step to rapid and efficient export of C during declining coccolithophorid blooms. |
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