D. Satyanarayana et al., DISTRIBUTION OF PHYTOPLANKTON PIGMENTS AND PARTICULATE ORGANIC-CARBONIN THE COASTAL WATERS OF VISAKHAPATNAM (BAY OF BENGAL), Indian journal of marine sciences, 23(1), 1994, pp. 47-51
Phytoplankton pigments and particulate organic carbon (POC) revealed t
emporal and spatial variations in the coastal waters of Visakhapatnam.
Chlorophyll-a (chl-a) and POC exhibited major peaks in pre and postmo
nsoon seasons which were attributed to higher planktonic production as
a result of upwelling in the former, and favourable marine conditions
in the latter. The integral mean concentration (IMC) of chl-a showed
a decreasing trend from coast to offshore indicating higher fertility
near the coast. A subsurface maximum (10-20 m depth) was observed with
chl-a and POC coinciding with the biomass.maximum. Lower ratios of ch
l-b, chl-c and phaeopigments with chl-a suggested their healthy physio
logical state. Detritus (carbon) in POC ranged from 90.8 to 97.5% indi
cating its dominance over living phytoplankton carbon.