Shelf seas play a key role in both the global carbon cycle and coastal marine ecosystems through the draw-down and fixing of carbon, as measured through phytoplankton net primary production (NPP). Measuring NPP in situ and extrapolating this to the local, regional, and global scale presents challenges however because of limitations with the techniques utilised (e.g. radiocarbon isotopes), data sparsity, and the inherent biogeochemical heterogeneity of coastal and open-shelf waters.Here, we introduce a new data set generated using a technique based on the synergistic use of in situ glider profiles and satellite Earth observation measurements which can be implemented in a real-time or delayed-mode system (https://doi.org/10.5285/e6974644-2026-0f94-e053-6c86abc00109; Loveday and Smyth, 2022). We apply this system to a fleet of gliders successively deployed over a 19-month time frame in the North Sea, generating an unprecedented fine-scale time series of NPP in the region. At a large scale, this time series gives close agreement with existing satellite-based estimates of NPP for the region and previous in situ estimates. What has not been elucidated before is the high-frequency, small-scale, depth-resolved variability associated with bloom phenology, mesoscale phenomena, and mixed layer dynamics.

中文翻译：

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新的净初级生产方法的应用：北海的每日到每年规模的数据集，来自自主水下滑翔机和卫星地球观测

根据浮游植物净初级生产 (NPP) 衡量，陆架海通过碳的抽取和固定在全球碳循环和沿海海洋生态系统中发挥着关键作用。然而，由于所使用的技术（例如放射性碳同位素）、数据稀疏以及沿海和开放大陆架水域固有的生物地球化学异质性的限制，原位测量 NPP 并将其外推到当地、区域和全球范围内提出了挑战。在这里，我们介绍了使用基于原位滑翔机剖面和卫星地球观测测量协同使用的技术生成的新数据集，该技术可以在实时或延迟模式系统中实施（https://doi.org/10.5285/ e6974644-2026-0f94-e053-6c86abc00109；洛夫戴与史密斯，2022）。我们将该系统应用于在 19 个月内连续部署在北海的滑翔机机队，在该地区产生了前所未有的精细尺度时间序列。在大范围内，这个时间序列与该地区现有的基于卫星的 NPP 估计和以前的现场估计非常一致。以前没有阐明的是与水华物候、中尺度现象和混合层动力学相关的高频、小尺度、深度分辨的变化。