Caribbean Seafloor Silicate (μmol l-1)

Silica is most common on the ocean floor beneath cold surface waters as it dissolves quickly in warm water. Silica is formed from the remains of organisms with silica based skeletons like diatoms or radiolarians. When large plankton blooms with a sudden die-off occur massive amounts of diatoms that associate die and contribute to the siliceous material on the seafloor. Silicate directly influences marine primary productivity.  Source: Marine Conservation Institute (MCI)Citation: Garcia HE, Locarnini RA, Boyer TP, Antonov JI (2006) World Ocean Atlas 2005, Volume 4: Nutrients (phosphate, nitrate, silicate). In: Levitus S, editor. 396 p. NOAA Atlas NESDIS 64, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington DC.The Marine Conservation Institute used this dataset as an input to a predictive habitat model documented in the publication Global Habitat Suitability for Framework-Forming Cold-Water Corals.