In biological modelling of the coastal phytoplankton dynamics, the light attenuation coefficient is often expressed as a function of the concentrations of chlorophyll and mineral suspended particulate matter (SPM). In order to estimate the relationship between these parameters over the continental shelf of the northern Bay of Biscay, a set of in situ data has been gathered for the period 1998-2003 when SeaWiFS imagery is available. These data comprise surface measurements of the concentrations of total SPM, chlorophyll, and irradiance profiles from which is derived the attenuation coefficient of the photosynthetically available radiation, K PAR. The performance of the IFREMER look-up table used to retrieve the chlorophyll concentration from the SeaWiFS radiance is evaluated on this new set of data. The quality of the estimated chlorophyll concentration is assessed from a comparison of the variograms of the in situ and satellite-derived chlorophyll concentrations. Once the chlorophyll concentration is determined, the non living SPM, which is defined as the SPM not related to the dead or alive endogenous phytoplankton, is estimated from the radiance at 555 nm by inverting a semi-analytic model. This method provides realistic estimations of concentrations of chlorophyll and SPM over the continental shelf all over the year. Finally, a relationship, based on non living SPM and chlorophyll, is proposed to estimate K PAR on the continental shelf of the Bay of Biscay. The same formula is applied to non living SPM and chlorophyll concentrations, observed in situ or derived from SeaWiFS radiance.

Karenia mikimotoi is one of the most common red-tide dinoflagellates proliferating in the eastern North Atlantic and around Japan. Kills of marine fauna are associated with its blooms. In mixed water columns it migrates vertically, while in stratified water columns, the population remains confined within pycnocline layers. Wind events, increasing mixing and agitation initiate declines in its populations. This paper is focused on the formulation of mortality rate relative to shear rate. Autotoxicity is demonstrated by the use of a synthetic toxin. Bioconvection observed in cultures allows the establishment of a trade-off between phototropism, which leads to the local accumulation of cells, and their autotoxicity, which would prevent cell concentration. The combination of these processes allows diffusion of the toxin into the underlying water, where it subsequently degrades. Confinement of the population in the pycnocline layer results also from another trade-off between growth conditions and shear-rate-modulated mortality. A simplified encounter kernel was introduced into the population dynamics equation to account for a mortality factor. Under realistic forcing conditions with a small number of parameters, this model reproduced the confinement of the population in the pycnocline layer, the proper timing and the duration of the recurrent K. mikimotoi bloom on the Ushant front (France).

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Fine‐resolution measurements of phytoplankton and physical parameters were made from 31 May to 14 June 2005 in the Ría de Pontevedra (Spain), which is subject to seasonal upwelling. The main objective of this work was to elucidate physical‐biological interactions leading to subsurface aggregations of toxin‐producing microalgae (Pseudo‐nitzschia spp. and Dinophysis spp.). A sequence of upwelling‐relaxation‐upwelling‐downwelling events was recorded with a moored Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler (ADCP). Thin layers (TLs) of Pseudo‐nitzschia spp. and other diatoms (up to 30 µg chlorophyll a L−1) developed and persisted in the pycnocline above cooler (12.5ºC) upwelled water but were vertically displaced and even dispersed during downwelling. The establishment of steep pycnoclines after upwelling pulses and the formation of TLs of Pseudo‐nitzschia spp. and other diatoms suggest that pycnoclines may act as retention areas for these populations. Their vertical displacement during downwelling would explain different patterns observed in the contamination of benthic resources and raft‐mussels. A decimeter‐scale segregation of Pseudo‐nitzschia micans and Dinophysis acuminata populations was observed. The population of D. acuminata, present since March 2005 in Ría de Pontevedra, was never found within the pycnocline, did not perform any significant vertical migration, and was not dispersed during upwelling. Instead, it formed patches (up to 8 × 103 cell L−1) in the warmer (15‐18ºC) surface (0‐4 m) waters associated with a diurnal thermocline, and it spread throughout the ría into a near‐surface layer during relaxation and downwelling. These results demonstrate the importance of considering species‐specific behavior to predict the location of cell maxima.

The development of a deep chlorophyll maximum (DCM) at a depth of 30-35 m was followed during a 15-d case study in July 1998 at the entrance to the Gulf of Finland. The study consisted of three 18-24-h periods of biological (chlorophyll a, phytoplankton, primary production), chemical (nitrate, phosphate) and physical (CTD, turbulence, vertical particle size distribution) measurements at an anchor station and six mesoscale towed CTD/ fluorometer mappings over the surrounding area. Exceptionally cold and windy weather led to a red tide of the dinoflagellate Heterocapsa triquetra instead of the cyanobacterial bloom that frequently occurs in late summer.Comparison of the estimated amount of nitrogen required for an H. triquetra bloom biomass with external loading affirmed that the bloom had been formed on the basis of the nitrate pool below the thermocline. The development of the bloom, therefore, led to the extremely deep nitracline. The DCM formed by H. triquetra developed at the top of the nitracline at an illumination of Ͻ0.1% of the sea surface illumination. A temperature-salinity analysis showed that the DCM was not caused by intrusions from inshore regions. It was concluded that the DCM was formed as a result of changing migratory behavior of H. triquetra after an upwelling event that fertilized the upper layer with phosphorus.