3. Results
At the sampling depth of 1003 m, diatom abundance in the sinking particles varied between 4.9 106 and 8.7 107 valves m 2 d 1, appar- ently with seasonal differences (Fig. 2a). Diatom fluxes were relatively low from June to October 2009 and increased after October 2009. During the period from November 2009 to May 2010, three peaks of diatom fluxes were found, i.e. November 2nd–December 20th 2009, January
21st–February 22nd 2010, and March 26th–May 13th 2010. At the sampling depth of 3226 m, diatom abundance varied between 1.2 107 and 4.0 107 valves m 2 d 1 (Fig. 3a), with relatively higher fluxes from January to April 2010.