Polar plankton communities are among the most productive, seasonally dynamic and rapidly
changing ecosystems in the global ocean. However, persistent cloud cover, periods of
constant night and prevailing low solar elevations in polar regions severely limit traditional
passive satellite ocean colour measurements and leave vast areas unobserved for many
consecutive months each year. Consequently, our understanding of the annual cycles of
polar plankton and their interannual variations is incomplete. Here we use space-borne lidar …