[Total count, biomass and production of microorganisms in the water of the South Sea].

The total number of microorganisms in waters of the Southern Ocean was determined by direct count in capillaries of Perfiliev and Gabe. Ninety samples of water, obtained at depths from 0 to 7,000 m in the Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific sectors of the Southern Ocean, have been analyzed. The number of microorganisms in these samples varied from hundreds to dozens of thousand cells in 1 ml of water, being in most cases thousands of cells in 1 ml of water. An increase in the concentration of cells, as compared to higher and lower horizons, was registered in some layers of subsurface, intermediate, and deep waters.