Hydrodynamic conditions associated with the formation,maintenance and dissipation of a phytoplankton thin layer in a coastal upwelling system |
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| Authors: | Lourdes Velo-Suárez Liam Fernand Patrick Gentien Beatriz Reguera |
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| Institution: | 1. Instituto Español de Oceanografía, Centro Oceanográfico de Vigo, Aptdo 1552, E-36200 Vigo, Spain;2. Centre for Environment Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (CEFAS), Pakefield Rd., Lowestoft, Suffolk, N R33 OHT, UK;3. IFREMER, Centre de Brest. DYNECO. Pointe du Diable BP70, 29280 Plouzane, France |
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| Abstract: | During May–June 2005, a 17-d cruise was carried out in Ría de Pontevedra (Galician Rías Baixas) to study the physical–biological interactions that may lead to subsurface aggregations of phytoplankton organisms in thin layers (TLs). Physical processes governed the initiation and development, maintenance, and decline of a diatom (toxin producing Pseudo-nitzschia spp. and Chaetoceros socialis) TL during an upwelling relaxation-upwelling–downwelling sequence. Differences in shear profiles appeared to lead to the formation of a TL during upwelling events. These results reveal that the coupling between maximum values of shear and buoyancy frequency can shape a subsurface chlorophyll maximum (SCM) into a TL. The effect of shear upon phytoplankton patches, which has been predicted on the basis of theoretical studies, has been corroborated in this study in which the vertical distribution of an observed TL was controlled by physical processes. |
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| Keywords: | Thin layer Phytoplankton Shear Coastal upwelling system Physical forcing Coastal circulation |
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