The present study examines the potential of using the near‐surface chlorophyll a concentration ([Chla]_surf), as it can be derived from ocean color observation, to infer the column‐integrated phytoplankton biomass, its vertical distribution, and ultimately the community composition. Within this context, a large High‐Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) pigment database was analyzed. It includes 2419 vertical pigment profiles, sampled in case 1 waters with various trophic states (0.03–6 mg Chla m⁻³). The relationships between [Chla]_surf and the chlorophyll a vertical distribution, as previously derived by Morel and Berthon (1989), are fully confirmed. This agreement makes it possible to go further and to examine if similar relationships between [Chla]_surf and the phytoplankton assemblage composition along the vertical can be derived. Thanks to the detailed pigment composition, and use of specific pigment …