Global Seasonal Phytoplankton Climatology Based on HPLC Pigments

A global seasonal climatology provides data for approximately 1500 1°x1° grid points. The dataset, created by C. Swan of ETH Zurich, applies CHEMTAX analysis to HPLC pigment observations to characterize major phytoplankton types. It offers a global view of phytoplankton community structure, validated against prior regional studies.

Use Cases

• Parameterizing marine ecosystem models based on global phytoplankton community structure.
• Studying the biogeography of specific phytoplankton groups like haptophytes based on pigment-derived abundances.
• Validating remote sensing products for phytoplankton functional types using in-situ pigment data.
• Investigating links between oceanographic conditions and phytoplankton community complexity.

Strengths

• First systematic global application of the CHEMTAX inverse method.
• Covers approximately 1500 1°x1° global grid points.
• Provides quantitative estimates for major phytoplankton groups, including haptophytes comprising 32 ± 5% of total chlorophyll.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Last update date is unknown; freshness unverified.

Provenance

Source

C. Swan, ETH Zurich

Collection Method

CHEMTAX analysis applied to a global climatology of High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) pigment observations.

Time Range

Seasonal climatology (specific years unknown).

Geography

Global ocean coverage.