ANNUAL MEAN MESOPLANKTON BIOMASS DISTRIBU TION IN THE SURFACE-LAYER OF THE ATLANTIC-OCEAN

The distribution of the mean annual biomass of mesoplankton (animals s ize range between 0.2 and 20 mm) in the surface layer (0-100 m) of the Atlantic ocean was mapped. The results of biomass determination at 45 66 oceanographic stations were used in the map construction. The data were taken from the own archive records, from the National Oceanograph ic Data Center, Washington, and from published sources. The overall me soplankton biomass stock in the 0-100 m layer of the Atlantic ocean wa s evaluated as 1.4 x 10(9) tons (wet weight).