Abundance of microplankton in the eastern Mediterranean Sea in April 2008 during SES_GR2

The dataset is based on samples taken from 12 stations in Northern Aegean Sea, Southern Aegean Sea, Ionian Sea and Libyan Sea during August-September 2008. 12 Niskin bottles (8lt) made by PVC with rubber coated o rings and stainless steel ss springs. Seawater samples (150 mL) were collected from selected depths of the water column (2, 20, 50, 75, 100 m) for the identification and enumeration of phytoplankton cells (>= 5 µm). The samples were fixed with Lugol solution and concentrated to 25 mL by sedimentation. Phytoplankton species abundance was determined with an inverted light microscope (OLYMPUS IX70) according to the Utermohl method (Utermohl, 1958).

Abundance of phytoplankton in the Marmara Sea collected during the Bilim 2 cruise in Oktober 2008

The dataset is composed of 22 samples from 14 stations. The phytoplankton samples were collected by 5l Niskin bottles attached to the CTD system. The sampling depths were selected according to the CTD profiles and the in situ fluorometer readings. The samples (50 ml sea water) were preserved with prefiltered (0.2 micron) glutardialdehyde solution (1.5 ml of commercial glutardialdehyde (25%)) into dark colored glass bottles. Preserved samples were poured into 10 or 25 ml settling chambers (Hydro-Bios) for cells to settle on the bottom over a day. Species identification and enumeration were done under an inverted microscope (Olympus IX71). At least 400 specimen were tried to be counted in each sample.