Silicon cycle in the tropical South Pacific: contribution to the global Si cycle and evidence for an active pico-sized siliceous plankton

Leblanc, Karine; Cornet, Véronique; Rimmelin-Maury, Peggy; Grosso, Olivier; Hélias-Nunige, Sandra; Brunet, Camille; Claustre, Hervé; Ras, Joséphine; Leblond, Nathalie; Quéguiner, Bernard

doi:https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-15-5595-2018

Articles | Volume 15, issue 18

https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-15-5595-2018

© Author(s) 2018. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Special issue:

Interactions between planktonic organisms and biogeochemical...

https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-15-5595-2018

© Author(s) 2018. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Articles | Volume 15, issue 18

Research article

|

20 Sep 2018

Research article |

| 20 Sep 2018

Silicon cycle in the tropical South Pacific: contribution to the global Si cycle and evidence for an active pico-sized siliceous plankton

Karine Leblanc, Véronique Cornet, Peggy Rimmelin-Maury, Olivier Grosso, Sandra Hélias-Nunige, Camille Brunet, Hervé Claustre, Joséphine Ras, Nathalie Leblond, and Bernard Quéguiner

Data sets

Biogenic and lithogenic particulate silica, diatom abundance and C biomass data during the OUTPACE (2015) cruise, SEANOE K. Leblanc and V. Cornet https://doi.org/10.17882/55743

Biogenic and lithogenic particulate silica collected during the BIOSOPE (2004) cruise, SEANOE B. Quéguiner and P. Rimmelin https://doi.org/10.17882/55722

Short summary

The Si biogeochemical cycle was studied during two oceanographic cruises in the tropical South Pacific in 2005 and 2015, between New Caledonia and the Chilean upwelling (8–34° S). Some of the lowest levels of biogenic silica stocks were found in the southern Pacific gyre, where Chlorophyll a concentrations are most depleted worldwide. Size-fractionated biogenic silica concentrations as well as Si kinetic uptake experiments revealed biological Si uptake by the picoplanktonic size fraction.