Calcification and distribution of extant coccolithophores across the Drake Passage during late austral summer 2016

This study documents the latitudinal variability in the coccolithophore assemblage composition and the coccolith mass variation of the ecologically dominant Emiliania huxleyi across the Drake Passage. Ninety-six water samples were taken between 10 and 150 m water depth from 18 CTD stations during POLARSTERN Expedition PS97 (February-April, 2016). A minimum of 200 coccospheres per sample were classified in scanning electron microscope and coccolith mass was estimated with light microscopy, using the C-Calcita software.