Estimation of ocean export production ratios based on mixed layer depth and satellite chlorophyll observations

We introduced a simple methodology to determine basin-wide marine export production ratios during spring phytoplankton bloom periods by combining monthly varying mixed layer depths (MLD) derived from observed temperature depth profiles, satellite time series of chlorophyll-a (Chl-a) concentrations, and hypothetical critical depth. The MLD-Chl-a based approach yielded reflecting seasonal variability net community in correlation with the MLD variations. Regional averages ratio for southern part East Sea (36–39°N, 130–134°E), North Pacific Ocean (42–45°N, 151–155°E), Atlantic (57–60°N, 17–21°W) are 0.44 ± 0.22, 0.42 0.16, 0.73 0.29, respectively, which compare favorably prior field data. This suggests that enables estimation high spatial temporal resolutions, complementing methods rely on extrapolation limited measurements larger space scales.