Lab 7.1 – How does the abundance of Chlorophyll-a vary over the course of a year?

Estimated time to complete: 45 minutes
Materials needed: None

What trends or patterns can you observe in primary production (chlorophyll-a concentration) over time in the temperate Atlantic Ocean? Use the graph to answer the following questions.

Hint: when you hover over a data point, a box will pop up with more information. You also can adjust the date range shown by using the slider bar.

 

Orientation questions

  1. What data does the x-axis represent?
  2. What data does the y-axis represent?
  3. What is the approximate data range and units on the x-axis?
  4. What is the approximate data range and units on the y-axis?
  5. On what day was chlorophyll-a the highest?
  6. During what month was chlorophyll-a consistently the lowest?

Interpretation questions

  1. Over the course of the year, what overall trends or patterns do you see in the concentration of chlorophyll-a?  
  2. Are there certain times of the year when chlorophyll-a tends to be higher? If so, during which months or seasons? Are there certain times of the year when chlorophyll-a tends to be lower? If so, during which months or seasons?
  3. Based on what you know about primary production, what might explain this pattern?
  4. What additional data would be useful to explain what causes this pattern?

Assessment question

  1. Would the abundance of zooplankton in this area be expected to vary seasonally as well? Why or why not?

 

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