Net community oxygen production derived from Seaglider deployments at the Porcupine Abyssal Plain site (PAP; northeast Atlantic) in 2012–13

As part of the OSMOSIS project, a fleet of gliders surveyed the Porcupine Abyssal Plain site (Northeast Atlantic) from September 2012 to September 2013. Salinity, temperature, dissolved oxygen concentration and chlorophyll fluorescence were measured in the top 1000 m of the water column. Net community production (N) over an annual cycle using an oxygen-budget approach was compared to variations of several parameters (wind speed, mixing layer depth relative to euphotic depth, temperature, density, net heat flux) showing that the main theories (Critical Depth Hypothesis, Critical Turbulence Hypothesis, Heat-flux Hypothesis) can explain the switch between net heterotrophy to net autotrophy in different times of the year, The dynamics leading to an increase in productivity were related to shifts in regimes, such as the possible differences in nutrient concentration. The oxygen concentration profiles used for this study constitute a unique dataset spanning the entire productive season resulting in a data series longer than in previous studies. Net autotrophy was found at the site with a net production of (6.4 ± 1.9) mol m−2 in oxygen equivalents (or (4.3 ± 1.3) mol m−2 in carbon equivalents). The period exhibiting a deep chlorophyll maximum between 10 m and 40 m of depth contributed (1.5 ± 0.5) mol m−2 in oxygen equivalent to the total N. These results are greater than most previously published estimates.