Photosynthetic pigments and their degradation products in suspended and sinking particles collected from the Gulf of Mexico waters 1987∼88, were measured using High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC). The short term variations in flux rates of chlorophylls and carotenoids as well as their degradation products were compared at the mesoscale cyclonic and anticyclonic circulation features (cold core ring and warm core ring). Chlorophyll a was the predominant porphyrin of suspended particulate matter at both CCR and WCR. Among carotenoid pigments, 19`-hexanoyloxyfucoxanthin, which is a biomarker of prymnesiophytes, was dominant pigment at both rings. Phaeophorbide a, which is produced through the grazing processes of grazers, was the predominant degraded pigment in sinking particles at the study area. Total pigment flux in CCR was an order of magnitude higher than that in WCR. Less than 1% of the standing stock of the pigments measured sank out of the upper 200 m of the WCR on any given day. Thus, suspended particulate matter in Gulf of Mexico was not recycled rapidly.