Approaches to Measuring Marine Primary Production

Marine primary production is a globally important component of the Earth’s carbon cycle. This article describes several approaches for measuring marine primary production, including description of whether the approaches estimate of net or gross rates of production. Both incubation-dependent and-independent methodologies are described. Among the methodologies presented are those that rely on isotopes as tracers of both carbon and oxygen, in addition to approaches that rely on assessment of time-varying changes in concentrations of bioelements or particles in the upper ocean. Moreover, we highlight approaches that leverage remote and autonomous sensing platforms for their ability to provide high temporal and spatial resolution estimates of primary production.