Wind‐induced modulation of seasonal phytoplankton blooms in the North Atlantic derived from satellite observations

We examined the interannual variability in the timing and magnitude of seasonal phytoplankton blooms in the North Atlantic (70°N–10°N, 90°W‐10°E) in relation to variability in wind forcing during the bloom period using satellite data from 1998 through 2004. When averaged over the period extending from 1998 to 2004, seasonal increases in phytoplankton in the subpolar North Atlantic were observed predominantly during the spring, while the increases occurred between autumn and winter in the subtropical region. The major modes of interannual variability in bloom timing and magnitude from empirical orthogonal function analysis exhibited large spatial coherency across the North Atlantic. These patterns of variability can be explained, in large part, by the pattern of interannual variability in bloom‐period wind mixing. Although convection is important in the seasonal development of blooms, wind‐induced mixing during the bloom period appeared to be the key forcing agent contributing to interannual variability in the intensity of blooms. Increased wind‐induced mixing during the bloom period reduced bloom magnitude over the subpolar and northern subtropical regions while enhancing it over the southern subtropical region. Atmospheric variations associated with interannual variability in wind mixing during the bloom period also appeared to affect variability in the timing of bloom onset. The major mode of interannual variability in the timing of North Atlantic blooms indicates a possible link to the North Atlantic Oscillation.

[1]  T. Braarud,et al.  A Quantitative Study of the Phytoplankton in the Bay of Fundy and the Gulf of Maine (including Observations on Hydrography, Chemistry and Turbidity) , 1935 .

[2]  H. Sverdrup,et al.  On Conditions for the Vernal Blooming of Phytoplankton , 1953 .

[3]  J. Ryther,et al.  Annual variations in primary production of the Sargasso sea off Bermuda , 1961 .

[4]  J. Turner,et al.  A one‐dimensional model of the seasonal thermocline II. The general theory and its consequences , 1967 .

[5]  J. Colebrook.  Continuous Plankton Records: Seasonal cycles of phytoplankton and copepods in the North Atlantic ocean and the North Sea , 1979 .

[6]  J. Wallace,et al.  Teleconnections in the Geopotential Height Field during the Northern Hemisphere Winter , 1981 .

[7]  R. Haney,et al.  Wind forcing due to synoptic storm activity over the North Pacific Ocean , 1981 .

[8]  J. Servain,et al.  Chapter 16 Interannual and Seasonal Variability of the Tropical Atlantic ocean depicted by Sixteen years of Sea-Surface Temperature and wind stress , 1985 .

[9]  R. Houghton.  Influence of local and remote wind forcing in the Gulf of Guinea , 1989 .

[10]  W. Large,et al.  A Global Ocean Wind Stress Climatology Based on ECMWF Analyses , 1989 .

[11]  M. D. Keller,et al.  Spring phytoplankton blooms in the absence of vertical water column stratification , 1992, Nature.

[12]  Andrew J. Watson,et al.  The BOFS 1990 spring bloom experiment: Temporal evolution and spatial variability of the hydrographic field , 1992 .

[13]  Daniel R. Cayan,et al.  Latent and sensible heat flux anomalies over the northern oceans : driving the sea surface temperature , 1992 .

[14]  W. Esaias,et al.  Annual cycles of phytoplankton chlorophyll concentrations in the global ocean: A satellite view , 1993 .

[15]  H. Ducklow,et al.  Introduction to the JGOFS North Atlantic bloom experiment , 1993 .

[16]  T. Dickey,et al.  Modeling phytoplankton dynamics in the northeast Atlantic during the initiation of the spring bloom , 1994 .

[17]  F. Muller‐Karger,et al.  Mesoscale processes affecting phytoplankton abundance in the southern Caribbean Sea , 1994 .

[18]  R. Weller,et al.  Bio‐optical variability associated with phytoplankton dynamics in the North Atlantic Ocean during spring and summer of 1991 , 1995 .

[19]  J. Hurrell.  Decadal Trends in the North Atlantic Oscillation: Regional Temperatures and Precipitation , 1995, Science.

[20]  Robert Atlas,et al.  A Multiyear Global Surface Wind Velocity Dataset Using SSM/I Wind Observations , 1996 .

[21]  Anthony H. Knap,et al.  Overview of the U.S. JGOFS Bermuda Atlantic Time-series Study and the Hydrostation S program , 1996 .

[22]  Robert R. Dickson,et al.  Long-term coordinated changes in the convective activity of the North Atlantic , 1996 .

[23]  J. Sarmiento,et al.  Inputs, losses and transformations of nitrogen and phosphorus in the pelagic North Atlantic Ocean , 1996 .

[24]  J. Cherniawsky,et al.  The seasonal cycle of mixed layer temperatures in a global ocean general circulation model , 1996 .

[25]  D. Antoine,et al.  Oceanic primary production: 2. Estimation at global scale from satellite (Coastal Zone Color Scanner) chlorophyll , 1996 .

[26]  R. Reynolds,et al.  The NCEP/NCAR 40-Year Reanalysis Project , 1996, Renewable Energy.

[27]  P. C. Reid,et al.  Phytoplankton change in the North Atlantic , 1998, Nature.

[28]  William J. Emery,et al.  Data Analysis Methods in Physical Oceanography , 1998 .

[29]  M. Follows,et al.  The Ekman transfer of nutrients and maintenance of new production over the North Atlantic , 1998 .

[30]  M. Follows,et al.  Estimating the convective supply of nitrate and implied variability in export production over the North Atlantic , 2000 .

[31]  G. Madec,et al.  Combined effects of mesoscale processes and atmospheric high-frequency variability on the spring bloom in the MEDOC area , 2000 .

[32]  J. Marshall,et al.  A Study of the Interaction of the North Atlantic Oscillation with Ocean Circulation , 2001 .

[33]  W. Collins,et al.  The NCEP–NCAR 50-Year Reanalysis: Monthly Means CD-ROM and Documentation , 2001 .

[34]  James W. Hurrell,et al.  The North Atlantic Oscillation: Past, present, and future , 2001, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.

[35]  H. Ducklow,et al.  JGOFS synthesis and modeling : The North Atlantic Ocean , 2001 .

[36]  M. Follows,et al.  Interannual variability of phytoplankton abundances in the North Atlantic , 2001 .

[37]  Cara Wilson,et al.  Correlations between surface chlorophyll and sea surface height in the tropical Pacific during the 1997–1999 El Niño‐Southern Oscillation event , 2001 .

[38]  Stephanie Dutkiewicz,et al.  Meteorological modulation of the North Atlantic spring bloom , 2001 .

[39]  Nicholas R. Bates,et al.  Overview of the US JGOFS Bermuda Atlantic Time-series Study (BATS): a decade-scale look at ocean biology and biogeochemistry , 2001 .

[40]  Ian A. Renfrew,et al.  An Assessment of the Surface Turbulent Heat Fluxes from the NCEP–NCAR Reanalysis over the Western Boundary Currents , 2002 .

[41]  A. D. Barton,et al.  The Continuous Plankton Recorder survey and the North Atlantic Oscillation: Interannual- to Multidecadal-scale patterns of phytoplankton variability in the North Atlantic Ocean , 2003 .

[42]  Joanna J. Waniek,et al.  The role of physical forcing in initiation of spring blooms in the northeast Atlantic , 2003 .

[43]  Scott C. Doney,et al.  Eddy‐driven sources and sinks of nutrients in the upper ocean: Results from a 0.1° resolution model of the North Atlantic , 2003 .

[44]  J. Yoder,et al.  Seasonal and ENSO variability in global ocean phytoplankton chlorophyll derived from 4 years of SeaWiFS measurements , 2003 .

[45]  W. Briggs.  Statistical Methods in the Atmospheric Sciences , 2007 .