The Influence of Nonlinear Mesoscale Eddies on Near-Surface Oceanic Chlorophyll

Chelton, Dudley B.; Gaube, Peter; Schlax, Michael G.; Early, Jeffrey J.; Samelson, R. M.

doi:10.1126/science.1208897

Cited by 546 publications

(565 citation statements)

References 22 publications

(45 reference statements)

Supporting

Mentioning

491

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…Mesoscale eddies, such as the Capricorn Eddy, stimulate and redistribute biological production in the ocean, thus creating attractive pelagic habitats for free-ranging, higher trophic level marine organisms (Chelton et al 2011, Godø et al 2012. Our results suggest that manta rays may exploit offshore mesoscale eddies for foraging purposes and corroborate several other studies that showed the importance of mesoscale eddies as offshore foraging grounds for a variety of marine species (e.g.…”

Section: Eddy Affinity and Offshore Foragingsupporting

confidence: 87%

Movements and habitat use of reef manta rays off eastern Australia: offshore excursions, deep diving and eddy affinity revealed by satellite telemetry

Jaine

Rohner

Weeks

et al. 2014

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

107

138

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Manta rays (Manta spp.) are plankton-feeding elasmobranchs classified as vulnerable to extinction on the IUCN Red List for Threatened Species. Despite increasing public and scientific interest in manta rays, major knowledge gaps concerning their movement ecology and dispersal capabilities remain. Here, we used pop-off satellite-linked archival transmitting tags to examine the horizontal movements and habitat use patterns of reef manta rays (M. alfredi) departing Lady Elliot Island in the southern Great Barrier Reef, Australia. Tagged individuals moved across a latitudinal range of 1035 km, travelling up to 2441 km in 118 d, diving down to 294.5 m and venturing up to 155 km off the continental shelf. Using random walk simulations, we showed that manta rays spent significantly more time in an offshore region characterised by the mesoscale cyclonic Capricorn Eddy than would be expected by chance. A behaviour-switching state-space model suggested this area to be an important foraging ground for M. alfredi off eastern Australia. We document the movements of 1 individual using offshore waters between 2 known aggregation regions off eastern Australia. Reef manta rays thus not only occupy inshore continental shelf and shelf-edge waters but also use offshore environments to exploit productive hotspots and travel long distances. Our findings highlight the need to better understand their movement ecology for effective management.

show abstract

Section: Eddy Affinity and Offshore Foragingsupporting

confidence: 87%

Movements and habitat use of reef manta rays off eastern Australia: offshore excursions, deep diving and eddy affinity revealed by satellite telemetry

Jaine

Rohner

Weeks

et al. 2014

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

107

138

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Such studies have previously been undertaken using satellite observations (e.g. Chelton et al, 2011). In a recent study by Everett et al (2012), it was shown that in one particular zone of the EAC region -that they referred to as "Eddy Avenue" -cyclonic eddies typically have elevated chlorophyll a at their core, while anti-cyclonic eddies have lower than average chlorophyll a.…”

Section: Snapshots Of Chlorophyll Amentioning

confidence: 99%

Evaluation of a near-global eddy-resolving ocean model

et al. 2013

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Abstract. Analysis of the variability of the last 18 yr (1993)(1994)(1995)(1996)(1997)(1998)(1999)(2000)(2001)(2002)(2003)(2004)(2005)(2006)(2007)(2008)(2009)(2010)(2011)(2012) of a 32 yr run of a new near-global, eddy-resolving ocean general circulation model coupled with biogeochemistry is presented. Comparisons between modelled and observed mean sea level (MSL), mixed layer depth (MLD), sea level anomaly (SLA), sea surface temperature (SST), and chlorophyll a indicate that the model variability is realistic. We find some systematic errors in the modelled MLD, with the model generally deeper than observations, which results in errors in the chlorophyll a, owing to the strong biophysical coupling. We evaluate several other metrics in the model, including the zonally averaged seasonal cycle of SST, meridional overturning, volume transports through key straits and passages, zonally averaged temperature and salinity, and El Niño-related SST indices. We find that the modelled seasonal cycle in SST is 0.5-1.5 • C weaker than observed; volume transports of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current, the East Australian Current, and Indonesian Throughflow are in good agreement with observational estimates; and the correlation between the modelled and observed NINO SST indices exceeds 0.91. Most aspects of the model circulation are realistic. We conclude that the model output is suitable for broader analysis to better understand upper ocean dynamics and ocean variability at mid-and low latitudes. The new model is intended to underpin a future version of Australia's operational short-range ocean forecasting system.

show abstract

“…Subtracting from these temperature profiles climatological estimates of temperature from the World Ocean Atlas 2009 (WOA2009) and averaging in equally spaced bins, we developed a three-dimensional (3-D) view of upper ocean temperature anomaly surrounding SST fronts. Since a similar technique has been used to characterize mesoscale eddies [see, e.g., Roemmich and Gilson, 2001;Chaigneau et al, 2011;Chelton et al, 2011b;Hausmann and Czaja, 2012] and results in a socalled composite eddy, we refer to this 3-D average-and the associated SST and SSH averages-as a composite front. We generate this composite for subtropical regions in the North and South Pacific, North and South Atlantic and Indian Oceans-regions defined later in the study.…”

Section: Microwave Sstmentioning

confidence: 99%

Global observations of quasi‐zonal bands in microwave sea surface temperature

et al. 2014

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Global observations of quasi-zonal jet-like structures have recently been reported in estimates of upper ocean circulation. To date, these observations have come primarily from float-derived and altimeter-derived estimates of zonal velocity. Here, we explore the existence of similar structures in the ocean using satellite-derived estimates of sea surface temperature (SST) from the Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer for the Earth Observing System (AMSR-E). Applying an ocean front detection algorithm globally to microwave measurements of SST, we find that repeated ocean fronts occur along quasizonal bands in a multiyear (2002)(2003)(2004)(2005)(2006)(2007)(2008)(2009)(2010)(2011) average of detections. Such a pattern is also observed in SST gradient magnitude. Composite analyses of SST, sea surface height (SSH), and upper ocean temperatures from Argo profiling floats suggest repeated fronts in the subtropics occur as a result of neighboring anticyclonic and cyclonic eddies. Horizontal advection in the presence of a background temperature gradient likely plays a role as evidenced by the tilt of temperature anomalies with depth. High gradient events found within the bands are observed to propagate westward with speed comparable to mesoscale eddies and we estimate these events explain 20% of the observed variance in SST gradient magnitude (2002)(2003)(2004)(2005)(2006)(2007)(2008)(2009)(2010)(2011). In a final analysis, we regress the decay of the bands with averaging period and observe mild-to-strong persistence throughout much of the World Ocean. These findings support the view that propagating eddies help give rise to the bands. Whether or not eddies follow preferred paths remain unanswered.

show abstract

The Influence of Nonlinear Mesoscale Eddies on Near-Surface Oceanic Chlorophyll

Cited by 546 publications

References 22 publications

Movements and habitat use of reef manta rays off eastern Australia: offshore excursions, deep diving and eddy affinity revealed by satellite telemetry

Movements and habitat use of reef manta rays off eastern Australia: offshore excursions, deep diving and eddy affinity revealed by satellite telemetry

Evaluation of a near-global eddy-resolving ocean model

Global observations of quasi‐zonal bands in microwave sea surface temperature

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About