Primary production, carbon release, and respiration during spring bloom in the Baltic Sea

We determined the gross and net primary production (GPP and NPP) for the total community and the < 10 mu m size fraction, the net release of dissolved organic carbon (DOC), and the microbial respiration in the Baltic Sea during the spring bloom. Samples (n = 126) were taken from the surface (3 m depth) covering most subbasins and different phases of the bloom, defined by the inorganic nutrient and Chlorophyll a (Chl a) concentrations. During the course of the bloom, the NPP rate (i.e., growth rate) decreased from 0.34 d(-1) +/- 0.03 (SE) to 0.15 d(-1) +/- 0.02 (SE), the contribution of the < 10 mu m fraction increased from 14% +/- 2.5 (SE) to 47% +/- 4.0 (SE) and the percent extracellular release (PER) increased from 3.8% +/- 0.7 (SE) to 8.9% +/- 1.5 (SE). The assimilation number, was on average 0.13 mol C (g Chl a)(-1) h(-1) +/- 0.01 (SE), and the average GPP:NPP rate was 1.25. The respiration increased with growth rate and was 21% of the GPP rate. The net release of DOC was relatively constant over the bloom phases, with increasing PER compensating for the reduction in biomass, and estimated to 24-36 mu mol DOC L-1 during the whole spring bloom period in all subbasins except in the Bay of Bothnia where it was 75% lower. The assimilation number was surprisingly stable, suggesting it is uncoupled from the inorganic nutrient concentration, likely a reflection of physiological acclimation and changing phytoplankton community.