The Application of Quantum Yield of Nitrate Uptake to Estimate New Production in Well-Mixed Waters of the Yellow Sea: A Preliminary Result

New production (NP) values in well-mixed waters of the Yellow Sea were estimated using two different methods and were compared with each other; one is from the quantum yield model of nitrate uptake and chlorophyll ${\alpha}$-specific light absorption coefficient, and the other is from a traditional $^{15}N$-labelled stable isotope uptake technique. The quantum yields of nitrate uptake were highly variable, ranging from 0.0001 to 0.04 mol $NO_3Ein^{-1}$, and the small values in this study might have resulted from either the partitioning into nitrate uptake of little portions of light energy absorbed by phytoplankton or that phytoplankton may predominantly utilize other N sources (E. G. ammonium and/or urea) than nitrate. The estimates (0.54-8.47 nM $h^{-1}$) of NP from the quantum yield model correlated well ($r^2$=0.67, p<0.1) with those (0.01-4.93 nM $h^{-1}$) obtained using the $^{15}NO_3$ uptake technique. To improve the ability of estimating NP values using this model in the Yellow Sea, more data need to be accumulated in the future over a variety of time and space scales.