Picophytoplankton and bacteria total carbon estimates from cell counts analyzed with flow cytometry (FCM) from CCE LTER process cruises in the California Current region, 2006 - 2017.

Picophytoplankton populations and non-pigmented prokaryotes are sampled within the California Current Ecosystem (CCE) for abundances from various depths. Seawater is collected from Niskin bottles and cells are fixed in the field aboard the survey cruises (since 2004, ongoing) with paraformaldehyde, and stained with a DNA-specific dye back in the laboratory. The cells are enumerated by an Altra flow cytometer (with a syringe pump for volumetric sample delivery) simultaniously with argon ion lasers, to distinguish three major populations of photoautotrophs (Prochlorococcus, Synechococcus, and pico-eukaryotes) and the assemblage of heterotrophic prokaryotes collectively referred to as H-Bact. FCM abundance estimates for each are converted to carbon biomass equivalents using mixed-layer estimates.