Redefinition of the Anomaly of the Nitrate-Phosphate Ratio

Abstract

The paper on the ratio of nitrogen to phosphorus in the sea (Cooper, 1937) was written before it was realized that in phosphate determinations, using two ml. of molybdate reagent per 100 ml. of water, the magnitude of the salt error correction factor is changed by the use of a spectral filter. Due to the resulting uncertainty it was felt better to use uncorrected figures for phosphate content rather than to risk a correction which might later prove to be wrong.