PRIMARY PRODUCTION IN THE NORTH-ATLANTIC - MEASUREMENTS, SCALING, ANDOPTICAL DETERMINANTS

Productivity in the ocean is viewed from the perspective of its three components: biomass, yield (new production), and the rate of productio n. The three components are ordered along a time scale and a fundament al time scale is defined for the rate of production at the diel (24 h) . Two optical properties, the absorption by phytoplankton and particle scattering, are presented and it is argued that they provide a means to unite the rate of production with biomass and yield at the diel sca le.