Coastal marine ecosystems are seasonally dynamic and highly productive. Phytoplankton populations shift from nutrient replete conditions in the spring to nutrient poor conditions in other seasons. The San Pedro Ocean Time-series (SPOT), located 17 km offshore between Los Angeles Harbor and Catalina Island, is a representative and accessible model coastal system with regular sampling and a substantial archive of relevant observations. The SPOT program has cataloged the dynamics, diversity, and productivity of microbial populations since...

There is an urgent need in the ocean science community for accurate, unambiguous measurements of iron(II) (Fe(II)) in the marine water column. Without these data it is impossible to obtain a complete understanding of the iron cycle and its biological implications. While the luminol chemiluminescence method and existing data obtained from oxygen minimum zones are probably robust, this method may overestimate Fe(II) in the euphotic zone. Moffett proposes here take on the challenge of producing...

The marine biological pump is one of the primary pathways via which anthropogenic carbon dioxide may be sequestered from the atmosphere and exported to the deep ocean as organic carbon. While the link between nutrient supply and high primary productivity in upwelling regions is well established, factors controlling the organic carbon export efficiency of upwelling ecosystems are not well known. Scientists from the University of Southern California and Pomona College plan to determine the factors...