PHYTOPAM 1

Type Oceanographic cruise
Ship Thalia
Ship owner Ifremer
Dates 12/03/2010 - 14/03/2010
Chief scientist(s) FIANT Liliane

IFREMER STATION DE PORT EN BESSIN

Avenue du General de Gaulle

B.P. 32

14520 PORT EN BESSIN

+33 (0)2 31 51 13 00

https://manchemerdunord.ifremer.fr/Implantations/Port-en-Bessin

DOI 10.17600/10070060
Objective Available data on primary production in the English Channel mainly concern zones very close to the coast. These data are too limited over time and space to be extrapolated to the entire basin. The lack of data, particularly in the central part of the Channel can be explained by the complexity of obtaining traditional primary production measurements. New measurement tools, based on fluorimetry and sea colour sensors on recent satellites could give us the elements needed to obtain a an overall view of the English Channel. Ifremer, with the expertise of LERN at Port-en-Bessin and the satellite remote-sensing and modelling expertise in Brest, is collaborating with phytoplankton physiology specialists from the University of Caen (UMR 100 IFREMER) on this project. Work done aboard RV Thalia (in addition to crossings made on ferries). Studying the variability of primary production in the Channel requires inter alia taking water samples in Niskin bottles (nutrients, chlorophyll, phytoplankton), measuring physical and chemical (sounding profile) and biological (pulse-amplitude modulated fluorescence) parameters as well as incubation of samples with 13C. Additional water samples were taken and stored in liquid nitrogen, to be used for later analysis of picoplankton and nanoplankton. This falls under the CHARM3 project.

Data managed by SISMER