全球变化知识资源中心

Phytoplankton play a key role as the base of the marine food web and a crucial component in the Earth's carbon cycle. There have been a few regional studies that have utilized satellite-estimated phytoplankton functional type products in conjunction with other environmental metrics. Here we expand to a global perspective and ask, what are the physical drivers of phytoplankton composition variability? Using a variety of satellite-observed ocean color products and physical properties spanning 1997-2015, we characterize spatial and temporal variability in phytoplankton community size structure in relation to satellite-based physical drivers. We consider the relationships globally and by major thermal regimes (cold and warm), dominant size distribution, and chlorophyll concentration variability. Globally, euphotic depth is the most important parameter driving phytoplankton size variability and also over the majority of the high-latitude ocean and the central gyres. In all other regions, size variability is driven by a balance of light and mode of nutrient delivery. We investigated the relationship between size composition and chlorophyll concentration and the physical drivers through correlation analysis. Changes in size composition over time are regionally varying and explained by temporal shifts in the varying physical conditions. These changes in phytoplankton size composition and the varying underlying physical drivers will ultimately impact carbon export and food web processes in our changing ocean.