Abstract

LOPEZ-SANDOVAL, Daffne C.; LARA-LARA, José Rubén  and  ALVAREZ-BORREGO, Saúl. Phytoplankton production by remote sensing in the region off Cabo Corrientes, Mexico. Hidrobiológica [online]. 2009, vol.19, n.3, pp.185-192. ISSN 0188-8897.

Integrated total phytoplankton production (PP_mod) (grams of carbon per square meter per day, gC m^-2 d^-1) was calculated for the oceanic region off Cabo Corrientes, Mexico. This was done with semi-analytic models from the literature and using chlorophyll a concentrations (Chl_sat) and photosynthetically active radiation (PAR_sat) from monthly composites of the satellite sensor SeaWIFS, for May and November 2002, and June 2003. Average values for PP_mod had a seasonal variation for the inshore (1.50 and 0.70 gC m^-2 d^-1 for May and June, and 0.38 for November) and the offshore (0.55 and 0.41 gC m^-2 d^-1 for May and June, and 0.31 for November) zones. It is interesting to note that our PP_mod data are similar to the previously reported PP_14C values for the Cabo Corrientes region. In general, Chl_sat and PP_mod support the previously reported ship data, which showed intense upwelling conditions during May, an upwelling relaxation period in June, and non-upwelling in November. Estimated PP_mod values are within the range of those for other upwelling enriched ecosystems of the Pacific off Mexico.

Keywords : Cabo Corrientes; upwelling; satellite chlorophyll; modeled primary productivity; Eastern Tropical Pacific.

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