Redfield ratioとは 意味・読み方・使い方

Redfield ratio or Redfield stoichiometry is the molecular ratio of carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus in plankton. The stoichiometric ratio is C:N:P = 106:16:1. The term is named after the American oceanographer Alfred C. Redfield, who first described the ratio in his article in 1934 (Redfield 1934). As a physiologist, Redfield participated in several voyages on board Atlantis. Alfred Redfield analyzed thousands of samples of marine biomass from all ocean regions. He found that globally the elemental composition of marine organic matter (dead and living) was remarkably constant. The ratios of carbon to nitrogen to phosphorus remained the same from coastal to open ocean regions. The elemental ratios he found were: