Phytoplankton data from the PHYCO cruise in the Strait of Dover in April 2017

The PHYCO cruise was devoted to the study of the phytoplankton spring bloom in the Eastern Channel-southern North Sea region, by combining in situ continuous recording at sub-surface waters and discrete sampling and profiling at fixed stations, collecting and analysing samples both in surface and at different depths. The objective is to study the abundance, composition (functional groups, taxonomy) and physiological state of phytoplankton assemblages discriminated by in situ multi-spectral fluorometry, pulse shape-recording flow cytometry, image in flow analysis, Pulse Amplitude Fluorometry (PAM) and Fast Repetition Rate Fluorometry (FRRF). Besides, reference determination of phytoplankton species and pigmentary groups by microscopic observation and pigments analysis was carried out. This cruise is the first of a series of three cruises of the implementation of innovative semi-automated techniques for defining an automated observatory of phytoplankton and HABs, Joint Research Action Project #1 (JRAP#1) of the JERICO-NEXT project