The North Atlantic bloom corresponds to a strong seasonal increase in phytoplankton that produces organic carbon through photosynthesis. It is still debated what physical and biological conditions trigger the bloom, because comprehensive time series of the vertical distribution of phytoplankton biomass are lacking. Vertical profiles from nine floats that sampled the waters of the North Atlantic every few days for a couple of years reveal that phytoplankton populations start growing in early winter at very weak rates. A proper bloom with rapidly accelerating population growth rates instead starts only in spring when atmospheric cooling subsides and the mixed layer rapidly shoals. While the weak accumulation of phytoplankton in winter is crucial to maintaining a viable population, the spring bloom dominates the overall seasonal production of organic carbon.

中文翻译：

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带有生物光学传感器的浮标揭示了触发北大西洋水华的过程。

北大西洋水华与浮游植物的旺季增加相对应，该季节通过光合作用产生有机碳。由于缺乏浮游生物质垂直分布的综合时间序列，仍在争论哪些物理和生物条件会引发水华。九年浮游生物的垂直剖面图每隔几天对北大西洋的水域进行采样，为期两年，这表明浮游植物的数量在冬季初以非常缓慢的速度开始增长。相反，仅在春季，当大气冷却消退并且混合层迅速消退时，才开始出现具有快速增长的人口增长率的适当开花。虽然冬季浮游植物的积聚很弱，但对维持种群的生存至关重要，