Abstract. This paper provides an extensive vertical and longitudinal description of the biogeochemistry along an EastWest transect of 3000 km across the Mediterranean Sea during summer 2008 (BOUM cruise). During this period of strong stratification, the distribution of nutrients, particulate and dissolved organic carbon (DOC), nitrogen (DON) and phosphorus (DOP) were examined to produce a detailed spatial and vertically extended description of the elemental stoichiometry of the Mediterranean Sea. Surface waters were depleted in nutrients and the thickness of this depleted layer increased towards the East from about 10 m in the Gulf of Lion to more than 100 m in the Levantine basin, with the phosphacline deepening to a greater extent than that for corresponding nitracline and thermocline depths. We used the minimum oxygen concentration through the water column in combination with 2 fixed concentrations of dissolved oxygen to distinguish an intermediate layer (Mineralization Layer; ML) from surface (Biogenic Layer; BL), and deep layers (DL). Whilst each layer was represented by different water masses, this approach allowed us to propose a schematic box-plot representation of the biogeochemical functioning of the two Mediterranean basins. Despite the increasing oligotrophic Correspondence to: M. Pujo-Pay (mireille.pujo-pay@obs-banyuls.fr) nature and the degree of P-depletion along the West to East gradient strong similarities were encountered between eastern and western ecosystems. Within the BL, the C:N:P ratios in all pools largely exceeded the Redfield ratios, but surprisingly, the nitrate vs. phosphate ratios in the ML and DL tended towards the canonical Redfield values in both basins. A change in particulate matter composition has been identified by a C increase relative to N and P along the whole water column in the western basin and between BL and ML in the eastern one. Our data showed a noticeable stability of the DOC:DON ratio (12-13) throughout the Mediterranean Sea. This is in good agreement with a P-limitation of microbial activities but in contradiction of the accepted concept that N is recycled faster than C. The western and eastern basins had similar or close biological functioning. Differences come from variability in the allochtonous nutrient sources in terms of quantity and quality, and to the specific hydrodynamic features of the Mediterranean basins.

Abstract. We investigated the identity of the limiting nutrient of the pelagic microbial food web in the Mediterranean Sea using nutrient manipulated microcosms during summer 2008. Experiments were carried out with surface waters at the center of anticyclonic eddies in the Western Basin, the Ionian Basin, and the Levantine Basin. In situ, the ratio of N to P was always higher in both dissolved and particulate organic fractions compared to the Redfield ratio, suggesting a relative P-starvation. In each experiment, four different treatments in triplicates (addition of ammonium, phosphate, a combination of both, and the unamended control) were employed and chemical and biological parameters monitored throughout a 3-4 day incubation. Temporal changes of turnover time of phosphate and ATP, and alkaline phosphatase activity during the incubation suggested that the phytoplankton and heterotrophic prokaryotes (Hprok) communities were not P-limited at the sites. Furthermore, Correspondence to: T. Tanaka (tsuneo.tanaka@obs-vlfr.fr) statistical comparison among treatments at the end of the incubation did not support a hypothesis of P-limitation at the three study sites. In contrast, primary production was consistently limited by N, and Hprok growth was not limited by N nor P in the Western Basin, but N-limited in the Ionian Basin, and N and P co-limited in the Levantine Basin. Our results demonstrated the gap between biogeochemical features (an apparent P-starved status) and biological responses (no apparent P-limitation). We question the general notion that Mediterranean surface waters are limited by P alone during the stratified period.

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Abstract. The particulate matter distribution and phytoplankton community structure of the iron-fertilized Kerguelen region were investigated in early austral spring (October-November 2011) during the KEOPS2 cruise. The iron-fertilized region was characterized by a complex mesoscale circulation resulting in a patchy distribution of particulate matter. Integrated concentrations over 200 m ranged from 72.2 to 317.7 mg m −2 for chlorophyll a 314 to 744 mmol m −2 for biogenic silica (BSi), 1106 to 2268 mmol m −2 for particulate organic carbon, 215 to 436 mmol m −2 for particulate organic nitrogen, and 29.3 to 39.0 mmol m −2 for particulate organic phosphorus. Three distinct high biomass areas were identified: the coastal waters of Kerguelen Islands, the easternmost part of the study area in the polar front zone, and the southeastern Kerguelen Plateau. As expected from previous artificial and natural iron-fertilization experiments, the iron-fertilized areas were characterized by the development of large diatoms revealed by BSi size-fractionation and high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) pigment signatures, whereas the ironlimited reference area was associated with a low biomass dominated by a mixed (nanoflagellates and diatoms) phytoplankton assemblage. A major difference from most previous artificial iron fertilization studies was the observation of much higher Si : C, Si : N, and Si : P ratios (0.31 ± 0.16, 1.6 ± 0.7 and 20.5 ± 7.9, respectively) in the iron-fertilized areas compared to the iron-limited reference station (0.13, 1.1, and 5.8, respectively). A second difference is the patchy response of the elemental composition of phytoplankton communities to large scale natural iron fertilization. Comparison to the previous KEOPS1 cruise also allowed to address the seasonal dynamics of phytoplankton bloom over the southeastern plateau. From particulate organic carbon (POC), particulate organic nitrogen (PON), and BSi evolutions, we showed that the elemental composition of the particulate matter also varies at the seasonal scale. This temporal evolution followed changes of the phytoplankton community structure as well as major changes in the nutrient stocks progressively leading to silicic acid exhaustion at the end of the productive season.Our observations suggest that the specific response of phytoplankton communities under natural iron fertilization is much more diverse than what has been regularly observed in artificial iron fertilization experiments and that the elemental composition of the bulk particulate matter reflects phytoplankton taxonomic structure rather than being a direct consequence of iron availability.

International audienceNitrogen is essential for life but is often a major limiting nutrient for growth in the ocean. Biological dinitrogen fixation is a major source of new nitrogen to surface waters and promotes marine productivity. Yet the fate of diazotroph-derived nitrogen (DDN) in marine ecosystems has been poorly studied, and its transfer to auto- and heterotrophic plankton has not been measured. Here, we use high-resolution nanometer scale secondary ion mass spectrometry (nanoSIMS) coupled with N-15(2) isotopic labelling and flow cytometry cell sorting to examine the DDN transfer to specific groups of natural phytoplankton and bacteria during three diazotroph blooms dominated by the cyanobacterium Trichodesmium spp. in the South West Pacific. During these experiments, 13%+/- 2% to 48%+/- 5% of the fixed N-15(2) was released into the dissolved pool and 6%+/- 1% to 8%+/- 2% of this DDN was transferred to non-diazotrophic plankton after 48 h. The primary beneficiaries of this DDN were diatoms (45%+/- 4% to 61%+/- 38%) and bacteria (22%+/- 27% to 38%+/- 12%), followed by pico-phytoplankton (3%+/- 1% to 21%+/- 14%). The DDN was quickly converted to non-diazotrophic plankton biomass, in particular that of diatoms, which increased in abundance by a factor of 1.4-15 over the course of the three experiments. The single-cell approach we used enabled quantification of the actual transfer of DDN to specific groups of autotrophic and heterotrophic plankton in the surface ocean, revealing a previously unseen level of complexity in the pathways that occur between N-2 fixation and the eventual export of DDN from the photic zone

This paper provides an extensive vertical and longitudinal description of the biogeochemistry in the whole Mediterranean Sea during the summer 2008. During this strong stratified period, the distribution of nutrients, particulate and dissolved organic carbon (DOC), nitrogen (DON) and phosphorus (DOP) were investigated along a 3000 km transect (BOUM cruise) crossing the Western and Eastern Mediterranean basins. The partitioning of chemical C, N and P species among all these mineral and organic pools has been analysed to produce a detailed spatial and vertical extended examination of the elemental stoichiometry. Surface Mediterranean waters were depleted in nutrients and the thickness of this depleted layer increased towards the East from about 10 m in the Gulf of Lion to more than 100 m in the Levantine basin, concomitantly to the gradual deepening of the thermocline and nutriclines. We used threshold in oxygen concentration to discriminate the water column in three layers; surface (Biogenic Layer BL), intermediate (Mineralization Layer ML), and deep layer (DL) and to propose a schematic representation of biogeochemical fluxes between the different compartments and to compare the functioning of the two basins. The stoichiometry revealed a clear longitudinal and vertical gradient in the mineral fraction with a P-depletion evidenced on both dimension. As a consequence of the severe deficiency in phosphorus, the C:N:P ratios in all pools within the BL largely exceed the Redfield ratios. Despite these gradients, the deep estimated fluxes in the mineral compartment tend towards the canonical Redfield values in both basins. A change in particulate matter composition has been evidenced by a C increase relative to N and P along the whole water column in the western basin and between BL and ML in the eastern one. More surprisingly, a decrease in N relative to P with depth was encountered in the whole Mediterranean Sea. We suggest that there was a more rapid recycling of N than P in intermediate waters (below BL) and a complete use of DOP in surface waters. DOC accumulated in surface waters according to the oligotrophic status but this was not the case for nitrogen nor phosphorus. Our data clearly showed a noticeable stability of the DOC:DON ratio (12–13) in the whole Mediterranean Sea, contradicting the fact that N is recycled faster than C in the DOM but in agreement with a P limitation of bacterial activity. Finally, comparisons between these elemental distributions and ratios along the West-East Mediterranean gradient of trophic status provide new insights for identifying and understanding fundamental interactions between marine biogeochemistry and ecosystems, which will help to predict the impacts of environmental climate changes on the Mediterranean marine ecosystems. Indeed, the outflowing through the various Mediterranean straits have been shown to be changing, the functioning of the BL ecosystem could be impacted, not only by changes in nutrients surface sources but...

Abstract. The Green Edge initiative was developed to investigate the processes controlling the primary productivity and fate of organic matter produced during the Arctic phytoplankton spring bloom (PSB) and to determine its role in the ecosystem. Two field campaigns were conducted in 2015 and 2016 at an ice camp located on landfast sea ice southeast of Qikiqtarjuaq Island in Baffin Bay (67.4797∘ N, 63.7895∘ W). During both expeditions, a large suite of physical, chemical and biological variables was measured beneath a consolidated sea-ice cover from the surface to the bottom (at 360 m depth) to better understand the factors driving the PSB. Key variables, such as conservative temperature, absolute salinity, radiance, irradiance, nutrient concentrations, chlorophyll a concentration, bacteria, phytoplankton and zooplankton abundance and taxonomy, and carbon stocks and fluxes were routinely measured at the ice camp. Meteorological and snow-relevant variables were also monitored. Here, we present the results of a joint effort to tidy and standardize the collected datasets, which will facilitate their reuse in other Arctic studies. The dataset is available at https://doi.org/10.17882/59892 (Massicotte et al., 2019a).