Ml. Dickson et Pa. Wheeler, CHLOROPHYLL-A CONCENTRATIONS IN THE NORTH PACIFIC - DOES A LATITUDINAL GRADIENT EXIST, Limnology and oceanography, 38(8), 1993, pp. 1813-1818
Chlorophyll a concentrations were measured as a function of depth from
28 to 48-degrees-N along 152-degrees-W in March 1991 with Whatman GF/
F and 0.2-mum Nuclepore filters. Surface Chl a concentrations measured
with 0.2-mum Nuclepore filters were up to fourfold higher than those
measured with Whatman GF/F filters. The largest difference between the
two filter types was found in subtropical waters, where picoplankton
were a major constituent of the phytoplankton assemblage. Chl a concen
trations integrated from 0 to 175 m showed a threefold increase (9-26
mg Chl a m-2) between 28 and 48-degrees-N when Whatman GF/F filters we
re used. However, integrated Chl a concentrations based on measurement
s with 0.2-mum Nuclepore filters were nearly constant (25-31 mg Chl a
m-2) over the transect. These results lead us to question the existenc
e of previously reported latitudinal gradients in integrated Chl a con
centrations in the North Pacific Ocean.