Culture experiments revealed CHBr3 production by the diatom and cyanobacterium.
CHBr2Cl and CHBrCl2 were also produced by the diatom (Ditylum brightwellii CCMP 358).
The production rate of CHBr3 by D. brightwellii was ~ 200 nmol (g chlorophyll a)− 1 h− 1.
No decomposition of CHBr3 was observed by either of the phytoplankton.
Temperate marine phytoplankton could act as a newly identified source for CHBr3 in the open ocean.