We examined biogenic silica production and elementary composition (biogenic Si, particulate organic carbon and particulate organic nitrogen) of Rhizaria and diatoms in the upper 200 m along a transect in the Southwest Pacific sector of the Southern Ocean

We examined biogenic silica production and elementary composition (biogenic Si, particulate organic carbon and particulate organic nitrogen) of Rhizaria and diatoms in the upper 200 m along a transect in the Southwest Pacific sector of the Southern Ocean

Particles located at the interface between the surface ocean layer and the top of the mesopelagic domain are the initial vector of the biological pump yet, their nature is still largely unknown. During the MOBYDICK cruise in the vicinity of the Kerguelen

Polycystina (~400–800 living species and several thousand extinct forms) and Phaeodaria (~400–500 living species) are exclusively marine, open-ocean planktonic protists, most of which possess elaborate siliceous skeletons. The cytoplasm is divided into

Two groups of minipellet producers, phaeodarian radiolarians and unarmoured dinoflagellates, were identified. Maximum concentration was located mainly between surface and 50 m depth. On average, higher numbers of minipellets were found in the Scotia and