Change Date: 31 May 2023, 3:15 p.m.
mass_concentration_of_prochlorococcus_expressed_as_chlorophyll_in_sea_water mg m-3 [UMMC] Mass concentration means mass per unit volume and is used in the construction mass_concentration_of_X_in_Y, where X is a material constituent of Y. A chemical or biological species denoted by X may be described by a single term such as "nitrogen" or a phrase such as "nox_expressed_as_nitrogen". The phrase "expressed_as" is used in the construction A_expressed_as_B, where B is a chemical constituent of A. It means that the quantity indicated by the standard name is calculated solely with respect to the B contained in A, neglecting all other chemical constituents of A. Chlorophylls are the green pigments found in most plants, algae and cyanobacteria; their presence is essential for photosynthesis to take place. There are several different forms of chlorophyll that occur naturally. All contain a chlorin ring (chemical formula C20H16N4) which gives the green pigment and a side chain whose structure varies. The naturally occurring forms of chlorophyll contain between 35 and 55 carbon atoms. Prochlorococcus are marine Prokaryotes with an extremely small cell, containing divinyl chlorophyll a and b as their primary photosynthetic pigments and adapted to the high-light, oligotrophic, warm waters of the tropical and subtropical regions of the world’s oceans.