Global open-ocean biomes: mean and temporal variability

Large-scale studies of ocean biogeochemistry and carbon cycling have often partitioned the ocean into regions along lines of latitude and longitude despite the fact that spatially more complex boundaries would be closer to the true biogeography of the ocean. Herein, we define 17 open-ocean biomes cl...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Earth system science data 2014-08, Vol.6 (2), p.273-284
Main Authors: Fay, A. R, McKinley, G. A
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Biomes
Chlorophyll
Ocean
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Summary:Large-scale studies of ocean biogeochemistry and carbon cycling have often partitioned the ocean into regions along lines of latitude and longitude despite the fact that spatially more complex boundaries would be closer to the true biogeography of the ocean. Herein, we define 17 open-ocean biomes classified from four observational data sets: sea surface temperature (SST), spring/summer chlorophyll a concentrations (Chl a), ice fraction, and maximum mixed layer depth (maxMLD) on a 1° × 1° grid (available at doi:10.1594/PANGAEA.828650). By considering interannual variability for each input, we create dynamic ocean biome boundaries that shift annually between 1998 and 2010. Additionally we create a core biome map, which includes only the grid cells that do not change biome assignment across the 13 years of the time-varying biomes. These biomes can be used in future studies to distinguish large-scale ocean regions based on biogeochemical function.
ISSN:1866-3516
1866-3508
1866-3516
DOI:10.5194/essd-6-273-2014