CCAMLR-IWC Export Group Report: Primary Productivity and Phytopalnkton

This report summarizes the satellite ocean color (chlorophyll) data that are currently available, from missions beginning with the Coastal Zone Color Scanner in the late 1970s through to the SeaWiFS and MODIS sensors that have been providing data for the last ten years. The characteristics of these data and limitations such as cloud cover and high solar zenith angle are discussed with regard to their use in the Southern Ocean. A brief history of algorithms linking ocean color to primary productivity is presented, focusing on the vertically generalized production model (VGPM) and more recent regional, carbon-based approaches. Using monthly climatologies of SeaWiFS chlorophyll, a phenology of phytoplankton blooms is presented for the major provinces surrounding Antarctica. Some of the published information regarding phytoplankton species composition and succession is summarized. Finally, a review of ecosystem and biogeochemical models for the Southern Ocean is presented, with a focus on those models that have been validated using satellite ocean color data.