Towards a comprehensive C-budgeting approach of a coccolithophorid bloom in the Northern Bay of Biscay (June 2006)

A biogeochemical multidisciplinary survey was carried out in the northern Bay of Biscay, in early June 2006, during which 14C-based primary production and calcification were determined as well as O2-based community respiration. Contemporary remote sensing images showed several patches of high reflectance (HR) in the investigated area. Based on remote sensing and in situ measured biogeochemical parameters, the area exhibited varying coccolithophorid bloom stages from its early development to the post-bloom stages. The major HR patch, characterizing a post-stationary stage of the bloom, was located between 48°N and 49°N over the shelf along the continental margin. It was associated with moderate chlorophyll-a levels, never exceeding 1.0 µg L-1, dissolved phosphorus and silica depletion, and undersaturation of CO2 with respect to atmospheric equilibrium. Considered as the main drivers of the C cycle in this area, the CO2 fluxes associated with primary production, calcification and respiration were integrated in order to provide a comprehensive C budget in the area.