Primary production and respiration, Mississippi Canyon, Gulf of Mexico, spring 2012 and 2013.

Two research cruises, one in 2012 and one in 2013, were conducted to continue to monitor the microbial and planktonic communities and to assess rates of particle flux and the rates of removal of PAHs from the system via this process and accumulation of PAHs in bottom sediments. Net Primary Production (NPP) represents the carbon available for export from the surface waters to the deep ocean and is one of the most important values when considering the carbon cycle. The Respiration, Gross Primary Production (GPP), and Net Primary Production (NPP) measurements included in this dataset were calculated from shipboard light-dark whole-water bottle measurements of photosynthesis and respiration (e.g., Howarth and Michaels, 2000).