Articles | Volume 10, issue 4
https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-10-1859-2018
https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-10-1859-2018
Review article
 | 
16 Oct 2018
Review article |  | 16 Oct 2018

A global compilation of coccolithophore calcification rates

Chris J. Daniels, Alex J. Poulton, William M. Balch, Emilio Marañón, Tim Adey, Bruce C. Bowler, Pedro Cermeño, Anastasia Charalampopoulou, David W. Crawford, Dave Drapeau, Yuanyuan Feng, Ana Fernández, Emilio Fernández, Glaucia M. Fragoso, Natalia González, Lisa M. Graziano, Rachel Heslop, Patrick M. Holligan, Jason Hopkins, María Huete-Ortega, David A. Hutchins, Phoebe J. Lam, Michael S. Lipsen, Daffne C. López-Sandoval, Socratis Loucaides, Adrian Marchetti, Kyle M. J. Mayers, Andrew P. Rees, Cristina Sobrino, Eithne Tynan, and Toby Tyrrell

Abstract. The biological production of calcium carbonate (CaCO3), a process termed calcification, is a key term in the marine carbon cycle. A major planktonic group responsible for such pelagic CaCO3 production (CP) is the coccolithophores, single-celled haptophytes that inhabit the euphotic zone of the ocean. Satellite-based estimates of areal CP are limited to surface waters and open-ocean areas, with current algorithms utilising the unique optical properties of the cosmopolitan bloom-forming species Emiliania huxleyi, whereas little understanding of deep-water ecology, optical properties or environmental responses by species other than E. huxleyi is currently available to parameterise algorithms or models. To aid future areal estimations and validate future modelling efforts we have constructed a database of 2765 CP measurements, the majority of which were measured using 12 to 24 h incorporation of radioactive carbon (14C) into acid-labile inorganic carbon (CaCO3). We present data collated from over 30 studies covering the period from 1991 to 2015, sampling the Atlantic, Pacific, Indian, Arctic and Southern oceans. Globally, CP in surface waters ( < 20 m) ranged from 0.01 to 8398 µmol C m−3 d−1 (with a geometric mean of 16.1 µmol C m−3 d−1). An integral value for the upper euphotic zone (herein surface to the depth of 1 % surface irradiance) ranged from  < 0.1 to 6 mmol C m−2 d−1 (geometric mean 1.19 mmol C m−2 d−1). The full database is available for download from PANGAEA at https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.888182.

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Short summary
Calcifying marine algae (coccolithophores) are key to oceanic biogeochemical processes, such as calcium carbonate production and export. We compile a global database of calcium carbonate production from field samples (n = 2756), alongside primary production rates and coccolithophore abundance. Basic statistical analysis highlights global distribution, average surface and integrated rates, patterns with depth and the importance of considering cell-normalised rates as a simple physiological index.
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