Calcification and distribution of extant coccolithophores across the Drake Passage during late austral summer 2016@en

This study documents the latitudinal variability in the coccolithophore assemblage composition and the coccolith mass variation of the ecologically dominant Emiliania huxleyi across the Drake Passage. Ninety-six water samples were taken between 10 and 150 m water depth from 18 CTD stations during POLARSTERN Expedition PS97 (February-April, 2016). A minimum of 200 coccospheres per sample were classified in scanning electron microscope and coccolith mass was estimated with light microscopy, using the C-Calcita software.本研究阐明了跨德雷克海峡（Drake Passage）的颗石藻（coccolithophore）群落组成的纬度变异特征，以及生态优势种赫氏艾密利藻（Emiliania huxleyi）的颗石质量变化规律。本研究依托极星号（POLARSTERN）科考航次PS97（2016年2月至4月），在18个温盐深剖面仪（CTD）站位采集了96份水深10~150 m的海水样品；每份样品至少选取200个颗石球（coccosphere），通过扫描电子显微镜（scanning electron microscope）完成类群分类鉴定，并借助C-Calcita软件，采用光学显微技术估算颗石质量。