Toward a theory on biological-physical interactions in the world ocean

The vertical distribution of phaeopigments in the ocean is traditionally interpreted as the result of the balance between two processes : 1) grazing by herbivores (= production) and (2) photo-oxidation by excess of light (= degration). If this interpretation is still correct for coastal and surface waters (e.g. spring bloom of phytoplankton and upwelled waters) there is today some evidence that the permanent (or seasonal) deep phaeopigment maximum layer in the bottom of the stratified euphotic zone (tropical and subtropical oceans) is largely overestimated. The artifact would be due to the widely and routinely used acid fluorometric method for determination of Chla. (D'après résumé d'auteur