Temperature and phytoplankton cell size regulate carbon uptake and carbon overconsumption in the ocean

Abstract. Phytoplankton plays a critical role in the uptake of atmospheric carbon dioxide by the ocean, and is comprised of a spectrum of cell sizes that are strongly associated with different oceanographic conditions. Studies suggest that the ocean will become increasingly stratified in response to a warming climate, limiting nutrient exchange to the upper sunlit ocean and favouring small cells able to grow in warmer, nutrient poor conditions. Here we show that, in a temperate shelf sea, a summertime population of numerically abundant small cells accounts for approximately 20% of annual carbon uptake. These small cells are not well represented by chlorophyll a – the ubiquitously used proxy of phytoplankton biomass – but rather, are strongly correlated with surface water temperature. Given the persistent near-zero nutrient concentrations during the summer, it appears that small cells drive carbon overconsumption, and suggest that their role in carbon fixation will become increasingly important in a warming ocean.