Unit 2. Production of organic matter. |
Variability and control of primary production. Stoichiometry of phytoplankton production. Dynamics of dissolved organic matter. New and regenerated production. Trophic organization and biogeochemical functioning of the ecosystem. |
Unit 4. Export. |
The biological pump. Methodological issues. Spatio-temporal variability in export. Attenuation of vertical fluxes: controlling factors. Shallow and deep sedimentation. Coast-ocean gradients. |
Unit 6. The global carbon cycle. |
Chemistry of dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC). Distribution and abundance of main DIC forms. CO2 fluxes between ocean and atmosphere. The biological pump and the solubility pump. Global C cycle: current unbalances. |
Unit 8. Global change and the biology of the ocean. |
Multiple environmental stressors. Warming. Acidification. Deoxygenation. Eutrophication. Impacts on species, communities, ecosystems and biogeochemical cycles. Global feedback processes. |
Practical session program. |
Data analysis of phytoplankton cell size, abundance and metabolism. Graphical representation of xyz distributions. Open-ocean nitrogen budgets. Modelling the global carbon cycle using computer models. Case analysis. |