Potential effects of deep seawater discharge by an Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion plant on the marine microorganisms in oligotrophic waters.

Installation of an Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion pilot plant (OTEC) off the Caribbean coast of Martinique is expected to use approximately 100,000 m h of deep seawater for its functioning. This study examined the potential effects of the cold nutrient-rich deep seawater discharge on the phytoplankton community living in the surface warm oligotrophic waters before the installation of the pilot plant. Numerical simulations of deep seawater upwelled by the OTEC, showed that a 3.