Characterizing the phytoplankton soup: Pump and plumbing effects on the particle assemblage in underway uncontaminated seawater systems

Nicole J Poulton, Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences, npoulton@bigelow.org (Presenter)
Wayne Slade, Sequoia Scientific, wslade@sequoiasci.com
Ivona Cetinic, University of Maine, ivona.cetinic@umaine.edu

A growing number of ship-board optical datasets are collected using underway seawater flow-through systems. These systems incorporate a suite of optical and chemical instruments that continuously sample and characterize the surface water for the duration of a research cruise. These continuous datasets are routinely used for validation and algorithm development within the ocean color community. However, the water source for these ship-board systems is the uncontaminated seawater supply, routinely provided by impeller pumps fed through a fixed plumbing system. Previous observations have suggested that these pumps can cause morphological (and potentially physiological) damage to plankton cells. In order to test these hypotheses, we collected and examined concurrent samples from different underway systems, including an independent pumping system (diaphragm pump) and CTD rosette. Using both flow cytometry and imaging cytometry (FlowCAM), microphytoplankton abundance, composition, biomass, and size distribution were assessed and compared. In addition, chemical analyses (total chlorophyll, particulate organic carbon, and HPLC pigments) were determined and assessed. Differences in phytoplankton biomass, abundance and size distribution between these samples are discussed in detail.

Presentation Type:  Poster

Session:  Theme 3: Future research direction and priorities: perspectives relevant to the next decadal survey   (Mon 4:30 PM)

Associated Project(s): 

• Cetinic, Ivona: MULTI-SENSOR, ECOSYSTEM-BASED APPROACHES FOR ESTIMATION OF PARTICULATE ORGANIC CARBON ...details

Poster Location ID: 241