SeaFlow: High-Resolution Phytoplankton Abundance and Biomass in the North Pacific

SeaFlow data provides continuous, high-resolution shipboard measurements of picophytoplankton populations in surface ocean waters. The dataset includes cell abundance, size, and carbon biomass estimates for cyanobacteria Prochlorococcus, Synechococcus, Crocosphaera, and small eukaryotic phytoplankton. Measurements were collected from over 64 research cruises in the Northeast Pacific Ocean between 2010 and 2018, with sampling occurring approximately every 3 minutes or 1 kilometer.

Use Cases

• Modeling phytoplankton carbon biomass and primary productivity based on cell abundance and size estimates.
• Analyzing spatial and temporal distributions of picophytoplankton populations across the North Pacific.
• Calibrating satellite ocean color data using continuous, in-situ flow cytometric measurements.
• Investigating seasonal cycles of microbial communities at long-term time-series sites like the Hawaii Ocean Time-Series.

Strengths

• High spatiotemporal resolution with sampling approximately every 3 minutes or 1 km, enabling fine-scale analysis.
• Extensive coverage from 64 cruises over 8 years (2010-2018), representing over 300,000 samples.
• Population-specific calibration and refractive indices used for more accurate cell size and abundance estimates.

Limitations

• Column names and exact data structure are not specified in the provided metadata, limiting immediate usability.
• Spatial coverage is limited to the Northeast Pacific Ocean, primarily from ship-based cruises.
• Conflicting information on the number of cruises exists between sources (25 vs. 64).

Provenance

Source

University of Washington (François Ribalet)

Collection Method

Continuous shipboard flow cytometry (SeaFlow instrument) from the ship's flow-through seawater system at ~5 m depth.

Time Range

2010 to 2018

Geography

Northeast Pacific Ocean, including the Hawaii Ocean Time-Series site