Phenology of Trichodesmium spp. blooms in the Great Barrier Reef lagoon, Australia, from the ESA-MERIS 10-year mission.

ABSTRACT: Trichodesmium, a filamentous bloom-forming marine cyanobacterium, plays a key role in the biogeochemistry of oligotrophic ocean regions because of the ability to fix nitrogen. Naturally occurring in the Great Barrier Reef (GBR), the contribution of Trichodesmium to the nutrient budget may be of the same order as that entering the system via catchment runoff. However, the cyclicity of Trichodesmium in the GBR is poorly understood and sparsely documented because of the lack of sufficient observations. This study provides the first systematic analysis of Trichodesmium spatial and temporal occurrences in the GBR over the decade-long MERIS ocean color mission (2002-2012). Trichodesmium surface expressions were detected using the Maximum Chlorophyll Index (MCI) applied to MERIS satellite imagery

SUBMITTER: Blondeau-Patissier D 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6294392 | biostudies-literature | 2018

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature