Eddy/Wind Interactions Stimulate Extraordinary Mid-Ocean Plankton Blooms

McGillicuddy, Dennis J.; Anderson, L.; Bates, Nicholas R.; Bibby, Thomas S.; Buesseler, Ken O.; Carlson, Craig A.; Davis, Cabell S.; Ewart, Courtney S.; Falkowski, Paul G.; Goldthwait, Sarah A.; Hansell, Dennis A.; Jenkins, William J.; Johnson, Rodney J.; Kosnyrev, Valery; Ledwell, James R.; Li, Qian P.; Siegel, David A.; Steinberg, Deborah K.

doi:10.1126/science.1136256

Cited by 755 publications

(773 citation statements)

References 35 publications

(2 reference statements)

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“…This variability likely reflects both enduring climatological differences within regions and transient, localized processes, such as storms, mesoscale eddies, horizontal advection of distinct water masses, tidal mixing and bathymetry (Greene et al, 2012;Mahadevan et al, 2012;McGillicuddy et al, 2007). Finally, our analysis compares well to the seasonal averages described for the Gulf of Maine by Thomas et al (2003) and differ from the descriptions of bloom initiation in Ji et al (2007) and Song et al (2010) because their study domains extended further north and eastward over the shallower areas of the Scotian Shelf.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 56%

Spring bloom dynamics and zooplankton biomass response on the US Northeast Continental Shelf

Friedland

Leaf

Kane

et al. 2015

Continental Shelf Research

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a b s t r a c tThe spring phytoplankton bloom on the US Northeast Continental Shelf is a feature of the ecosystem production cycle that varies annually in timing, spatial extent, and magnitude. To quantify this variability, we analyzed remotely-sensed ocean color data at two spatial scales, one based on ecologically defined sub-units of the ecosystem (production units) and the other on a regular grid (0.5°). Five units were defined: Gulf of Maine East and West, Georges Bank, and Middle Atlantic Bight North and South. The units averaged 47 Â 10 3 km 2 in size. The initiation and termination of the spring bloom were determined using change-point analysis with constraints on what was identified as a bloom based on climatological bloom patterns. A discrete spring bloom was detected in most years over much of the western Gulf of Maine production unit. However, bloom frequency declined in the eastern Gulf of Maine and transitioned to frequencies as low as 50% along the southern flank of the Georges Bank production unit. Detectable spring blooms were episodic in the Middle Atlantic Bight production units. In the western Gulf of Maine, bloom duration was inversely related to bloom start day; thus, early blooms tended to be longer lasting and larger magnitude blooms. We view this as a phenological mismatch between bloom timing and the "top-down" grazing pressure that terminates a bloom. Estimates of secondary production were available from plankton surveys that provided spring indices of zooplankton biovolume. Winter chlorophyll biomass had little effect on spring zooplankton biovolume, whereas spring chlorophyll biomass had mixed effects on biovolume. There was evidence of a "bottom up" response seen on Georges Bank where spring zooplankton biovolume was positively correlated with the concentration of chlorophyll. However, in the western Gulf of Maine, biovolume was uncorrelated with chlorophyll concentration, but was positively correlated with bloom start and negatively correlated with magnitude. This observation is consistent with both a "top-down" mechanism of control of the bloom and a "bottom-up" effect of bloom timing on zooplankton grazing. Our inability to form a consistent model of these relationships across adjacent systems underscores the need for further research.Published by Elsevier Ltd.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 56%

Spring bloom dynamics and zooplankton biomass response on the US Northeast Continental Shelf

Friedland

Leaf

Kane

et al. 2015

Continental Shelf Research

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“…In addition, overall production may be enhanced by higher light levels or nutrient availability, or the absence of grazers. Besides wintertime mixing, recent studies have shown the importance of mesoscale eddies to nutrient supply in the subtropical gyre (McGillicuddy et al, 1998;Siegel et al, 1999;McGillicuddy et al, 2007). However, the same eddy effects were shown to have an opposite effect in the Labrador Sea (McGillicuddy et al, 2003).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 93%

Physical controls and interannual variability of the Labrador Sea spring phytoplankton bloom in distinct regions

Frajka‐Williams

Rhines

2010

Deep Sea Research Part I: Oceanographic Research Papers

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We investigated the variability of the spring phytoplankton bloom in the Labrador Sea, dividing into distinct biogeographical zones, then analyzing the relationship between the bloom and physical forcings. The spring phytoplankton bloom in the north Labrador Sea varied in intensity by a factor of 4 and in timing of onset by 3 weeks over the 11-year record from SeaWiFS satellite ocean chlorophyll, 1998-2008. This north bloom (north of 60 • N and west of the Labrador shelves) is earliest and most intense, owing in part to the offshore-directed freshwater stratification from the West Greenland Current. On interannual timescales, significant correlations were found between the north bloom intensity and ocean processes, namely offshore advection, eddy activity and runoff from Greenland. In contrast, the central Labrador Sea is later and weaker, and only a correlation between the bloom timing and irradiance was found. As the subpolar gyre shifts in strength and shape, freshwater outflow from the Arctic and Greenland changes, we may expect further changes in the biological response as indicated by these relationships.

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“…A strong eddy (e.g., ring) tends to trap water masses in its interior region, but this is not the case for a weak eddy (McWilliams and Flierl 1979;Chelton et al 2011) and for a meander of a jet (Cushman-Roisin 1993). A propagation tendency and the corresponding upwelling structure are also different between a ring and a meander (Cushman-Roisin et al 1990, 1993Mariano et al 1996;Martin and Richards 2001;McGillicuddy et al 2007). Important questions remain unanswered:…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…Also, a ring acts to remove energy from the jet and reduce a potential vorticity gradient associated with the jet (Olson 1991;Bush et al 1995), while may reinforce the jet by momentum flux convergence (e.g., Waterman and Hoskins 2013). In addition, a ring is often accompanied by strong upwelling structure (e.g., Martin and Richards 2001;McGillicuddy et al 2007), which is important in marine ecosystems by vertically transporting nutrients into the euphotic zone. In the KE region, the rings shed from the jet and their importance have been reported (e.g., Mizuno and White 1983;Kawamura et al 1986;Oka et al 2011).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Climatological mean features and interannual to decadal variability of ring formations in the Kuroshio Extension region

Sasaki

Minobe

2016

“Hot Spots” in the Climate System

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This study examines the climatological mean features of oceanic rings shed from the Kuroshio Extension (KE) jet and their interannual to decadal variability using satellite altimeter observations from October 1992 to December 2010. To objectively capture a ring shedding from the KE jet, a new method that consists of the detection of the jet length changes and the tracking of a ring is proposed. A spatial distribution of the ring formations in the KE region indicates that cyclonic (cold-core) rings were most frequently formed in the upstream region between 143°-147°E around the steady meander of the KE jet. In contrast, most of anticyclonic (warm-core) rings formed in the downstream region west of the Shatsky Rise. These pinched-off rings in both the upstream and downstream regions generally propagated westward, but about two-third of the rings was reabsorbed by the jet. Nevertheless, about one-fourth of the meridional eddy heat transport at the latitude of the KE resulted from the rings that are not reabsorbed by the jet. The number of ring formations showed substantial interannual to decadal variability. In the upstream and downstream KE region, decadal and interannual variability was dominant, respectively. These fluctuations of the ring formations were negatively correlated with the strength of the KE jet. It is also revealed that the ring formation variations play an important role in sea surface temperature changes north of the KE jet.

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Eddy/Wind Interactions Stimulate Extraordinary Mid-Ocean Plankton Blooms

Cited by 755 publications

References 35 publications

Spring bloom dynamics and zooplankton biomass response on the US Northeast Continental Shelf

Spring bloom dynamics and zooplankton biomass response on the US Northeast Continental Shelf

Physical controls and interannual variability of the Labrador Sea spring phytoplankton bloom in distinct regions

Climatological mean features and interannual to decadal variability of ring formations in the Kuroshio Extension region

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