In situ estimates of net primary production in the open‐ocean Gulf of Mexico

Abstract

Abstract Net primary production (NPP) measurements in the open‐ocean Gulf of Mexico are scarce and mostly limited to satellite‐derived surface estimates. Profiling floats can obtain depth‐resolved chlorophyll (Chl) and backscattering (bbp) data for NPP estimates, but historical float data in this region lacked field calibrations. We adjusted the float data with satellite Chl, generating a consistent dataset for deriving the first year‐round depth‐resolved NPP estimates in this region. The results revealed distinct seasonal patterns in surface NPP and depth‐integrated (0–100 m) total NPP, with the peak values in the winter and summer, respectively. The results showed that for most of the year subsurface (20–100 m) contributes more to the total (0–100 m) NPP than the surface layer (0–20 m), and the major controls of NPP in these two layers were light level and nutrient supply, respectively.