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Abstract. This paper provides an overview and demonstration of emerging float-based methods for quantifying gross primary production (GPP) and net community production (NCP) using Biogeochemical-Argo (BGC-Argo) float data. Recent publications have described GPP methods that are based on the detection of diurnal oscillations in upper-ocean oxygen or particulate organic carbon concentrations using single profilers or a composite of BGC-Argo floats. NCP methods rely on budget calculations to partition observed tracer variations into physical or biological processes occurring over timescales greater than 1 d. Presently, multi-year NCP time series are feasible at near-weekly resolution, using consecutive or simultaneous float deployments at local scales. Results, however, are sensitive to the choice of tracer used in the budget calculations and uncertainties in the budget parameterizations employed across different NCP approaches. Decadal, basin-wide GPP calculations are currently achievable using data compiled from the entire BGC-Argo array, but finer spatial and temporal resolution requires more float deployments to construct diurnal tracer curves. A projected, global BGC-Argo array of 1000 floats should be sufficient to attain annual GPP estimates at 10∘ latitudinal resolution if floats profile at off-integer intervals (e.g., 5.2 or 10.2 d). Addressing the current limitations of float-based methods should enable enhanced spatial and temporal coverage of marine GPP and NCP measurements, facilitating global-scale determinations of the carbon export potential, training of satellite primary production algorithms, and evaluations of biogeochemical numerical models. This paper aims to facilitate broader uptake of float GPP and NCP methods, as singular or combined tools, by the oceanographic community and to promote their continued development. 

Measuring net community production (NCP) is a challenging, yet important, aspect of oceanography. Methods based on discrete sample collection often have low spatial and temporal resolution, while expensive instruments are required to obtain continuous NCP measurements at high resolution. To address these issues, Izett and Tortell (2020) created a novel, autonomous system called the Pressure of In-situ Gases Instrument (PIGI) and shared their design with the community. The system yields high-resolution surface water O2 and N2 measurements that are used to estimate NCP along a ship transect or at a fixed field station. This article provides a description of an updated PIGI system that was tested in a series of cruises in the coastal South Atlantic Bight (SAB). The data collected suggest that it performs equally as well as the original, providing high spatial resolution NCP measurements. Unfortunately, we believe that the SAB coastal and estuaries violate the steady state assumption due to horizontal mixing driven by tidal forces. Thus, we cannot recommend the PIGI system for use in the coastal SAB, but we encourage its use in open ocean waters that do not violate the assumptions on which this system was built. We document the updates to the PIGI system, share tips and tricks on its use, and discuss the data collected. 

Abstract. This paper provides an overview and demonstration of emerging float-based methods for quantifying gross primary production (GPP) and net community production (NCP) using Biogeochemical-Argo (BGC-Argo) float data. Recent publications have described GPP methods that are based on the detection of diurnal oscillations in upper-ocean oxygen or particulate organic carbon concentrations using single profilers or a composite of BGC-Argo floats. NCP methods rely on budget calculations to partition observed tracer variations into physical or biological processes occurring over timescales greater than 1 d. Presently, multi-year NCP time series are feasible at near-weekly resolution, using consecutive or simultaneous float deployments at local scales. Results, however, are sensitive to the choice of tracer used in the budget calculations and uncertainties in the budget parameterizations employed across different NCP approaches. Decadal, basin-wide GPP calculations are currently achievable using data compiled from the entire BGC-Argo array, but finer spatial and temporal resolution requires more float deployments to construct diurnal tracer curves. A projected, global BGC-Argo array of 1000 floats should be sufficient to attain annual GPP estimates at 10∘ latitudinal resolution if floats profile at off-integer intervals (e.g., 5.2 or 10.2 d). Addressing the current limitations of float-based methods should enable enhanced spatial and temporal coverage of marine GPP and NCP measurements, facilitating global-scale determinations of the carbon export potential, training of satellite primary production algorithms, and evaluations of biogeochemical numerical models. This paper aims to facilitate broader uptake of float GPP and NCP methods, as singular or combined tools, by the oceanographic community and to promote their continued development.