Population Abundance of Phytoplankton and Bacteria Measured during the JGOFS Equatorial Pacific Process Study

The Equatorial Pacific Process Study (EQPAC) was conducted along 140 deg W
longitude during 1992.

Four cruises took place: February 3 - March 9, March 19 - April 15,
August 5 - September 18, and September 24 - October 21. A fifth benthic
cruise and sediment trap legs were added. During the first cruise
(TT007), 15 stations were occupied along 140 deg W longitude from
12 deg N latitude to 12 deg S latitude. During the second cruise
(TT008), data were collected at 8 stations along 140 deg W longitude
from 9 deg S latitude to 9 deg N latitude. During the third cruise
(TT011), data were collected at 15 stations along 140 deg W from 12 deg N
latitude to 12 deg S latitude. During the fourth cruise (TT012), data were
collected at 5 stations along 140 deg W longitude from 17 deg S
latitude to the equator.

Population abundances of bacteria and phytoplankton were measured
on the first and third cruises. Predawn water samples were taken at
each station using the CTD rosette water sampler. The samples were
preserved by freezing them in liquid nitrogen. Abundances of
bacteria, cyanobacteria (Synechococcus and Prochlorococcus), and
chlorophyll-containing nanoplankton were determined from the preserved
samples by flow cytometry (FCM) with internal standards of fluorescent
beads.

The data is public domain and can be retrieved on-line at
"http://usjgofs.whoi.edu/jg/dir/jgofs/"

[The information in this summary was derived from the JGOFS
World Wide Web pages.]