DISTRIBUTION OF NITRATE, PHOSPHATE AND SILICATE IN THE WORLD OCEANS

This study describes the global horizontal distributions of the plant nutrients phosphate, nitrate and silicic acid, with depth, on a one-de gree latitude-longitude grid. The source of the data is a subset of th e National Oceanographic Data Center. Nutrients in surface waters are enriched in upwelling and high latitude regions and are generally depl eted at mid-latitudes. The depletion at mid-latitudes is associated wi th the subtropical anticyclonic gyre systems. With increasing depth, t he nutrient content increases in the water column. At depths of more t han 1000m, the nutrient distributions are associated with different wa ter masses which have their own inherent characteristics.