Size-fractionated nitrate uptake and primary productivity on the Mississippi-Alabama Shelf, March to July, 2016

While production measured using nitrogen-15 nitrate and carbon-14 bicarbonate incorporation are common, the bulk values provide no significant information on which phytoplankton are most important to productivity. Although methods exist for taxon-specific productivity, these are usually laborious and costly. Size fractionation is a widely used strategy to provide information on the distribution of production among large (>5 μm) and total (>0.6 μm) phytoplankton. Such information is useful for biogeochemical modelers who typically divide phytoplankton into groups based on size. Data were collected during cruises PTS02 and PTS03 along the Mississippi-Alabama shelf from March to July, 2016. This dataset supports the publication: Dzwonkowski, B., Greer, A.T., Briseño-Avena, C., Krause, J.W., Soto, I.M., Hernandez, F.J., Deary, A.L., Wiggert, J.D., Joung, D., Fitzpatrick, P.J., O'Brien, S.J., Dykstra, S.L., Lau, Y., Cambazoglu, M.K., Lockridge, G., Howden, S.D., Shiller, A.M., and Graham, W.M. (2017). Estuarine influence on biogeochemical properties of the Alabama shelf during the fall season. Continental Shelf Research, 140: 96-109 doi: 10.1016/j.csr.2017.05.001. Related biogenic silica standing stock and productivity data can be found in GRIIDC dataset R4.x262.000:0037.