Effect of small scale transport processes on phytoplankton distribution in coastal seas

Abstract Coastal ocean ecosystems are major contributors to the global biogeochemical cycles and biological productivity. Physical factors induced by the turbulent flow play a crucial role in regulating marine ecosystems. However, while large-scale open-ocean dynamics is well described by geostrophy...

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Autores principales:	Ismael Hernández-Carrasco, Alejandro Orfila, Vincent Rossi, Veronique Garçon
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	Nature Portfolio 2018
Materias:	Medicine R Science Q
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/939fbf4fc1434d6781964b81902f6ca8
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:939fbf4fc1434d6781964b81902f6ca82021-12-02T15:07:59ZEffect of small scale transport processes on phytoplankton distribution in coastal seas10.1038/s41598-018-26857-92045-2322https://doaj.org/article/939fbf4fc1434d6781964b81902f6ca82018-06-01T00:00:00Zhttps://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-018-26857-9https://doaj.org/toc/2045-2322Abstract Coastal ocean ecosystems are major contributors to the global biogeochemical cycles and biological productivity. Physical factors induced by the turbulent flow play a crucial role in regulating marine ecosystems. However, while large-scale open-ocean dynamics is well described by geostrophy, the role of multiscale transport processes in coastal regions is still poorly understood due to the lack of continuous high-resolution observations. Here, the influence of small-scale dynamics (O(3.5–25) km, i.e. spanning upper submesoscale and mesoscale processes) on surface phytoplankton derived from satellite chlorophyll-a (Chl-a) is studied using Lagrangian metrics computed from High-Frequency Radar currents. The combination of complementary Lagrangian diagnostics, including the Lagrangian divergence along fluid trajectories, provides an improved description of the 3D flow geometry which facilitates the interpretation of two non-exclusive physical mechanisms affecting phytoplankton dynamics and patchiness. Attracting small-scale fronts, unveiled by backwards Lagrangian Coherent Structures, are associated to negative divergence where particles and Chl-a standing stocks cluster. Filaments of positive divergence, representing large accumulated upward vertical velocities and suggesting accrued injection of subsurface nutrients, match areas with large Chl-a concentrations. Our findings demonstrate that an accurate characterization of small-scale transport processes is necessary to comprehend bio-physical interactions in coastal seas.Ismael Hernández-CarrascoAlejandro OrfilaVincent RossiVeronique GarçonNature PortfolioarticleMedicineRScienceQENScientific Reports, Vol 8, Iss 1, Pp 1-13 (2018)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	Medicine R Science Q
spellingShingle	Medicine R Science Q Ismael Hernández-Carrasco Alejandro Orfila Vincent Rossi Veronique Garçon Effect of small scale transport processes on phytoplankton distribution in coastal seas
description	Abstract Coastal ocean ecosystems are major contributors to the global biogeochemical cycles and biological productivity. Physical factors induced by the turbulent flow play a crucial role in regulating marine ecosystems. However, while large-scale open-ocean dynamics is well described by geostrophy, the role of multiscale transport processes in coastal regions is still poorly understood due to the lack of continuous high-resolution observations. Here, the influence of small-scale dynamics (O(3.5–25) km, i.e. spanning upper submesoscale and mesoscale processes) on surface phytoplankton derived from satellite chlorophyll-a (Chl-a) is studied using Lagrangian metrics computed from High-Frequency Radar currents. The combination of complementary Lagrangian diagnostics, including the Lagrangian divergence along fluid trajectories, provides an improved description of the 3D flow geometry which facilitates the interpretation of two non-exclusive physical mechanisms affecting phytoplankton dynamics and patchiness. Attracting small-scale fronts, unveiled by backwards Lagrangian Coherent Structures, are associated to negative divergence where particles and Chl-a standing stocks cluster. Filaments of positive divergence, representing large accumulated upward vertical velocities and suggesting accrued injection of subsurface nutrients, match areas with large Chl-a concentrations. Our findings demonstrate that an accurate characterization of small-scale transport processes is necessary to comprehend bio-physical interactions in coastal seas.
format	article
author	Ismael Hernández-Carrasco Alejandro Orfila Vincent Rossi Veronique Garçon
author_facet	Ismael Hernández-Carrasco Alejandro Orfila Vincent Rossi Veronique Garçon
author_sort	Ismael Hernández-Carrasco
title	Effect of small scale transport processes on phytoplankton distribution in coastal seas
title_short	Effect of small scale transport processes on phytoplankton distribution in coastal seas
title_full	Effect of small scale transport processes on phytoplankton distribution in coastal seas
title_fullStr	Effect of small scale transport processes on phytoplankton distribution in coastal seas
title_full_unstemmed	Effect of small scale transport processes on phytoplankton distribution in coastal seas
title_sort	effect of small scale transport processes on phytoplankton distribution in coastal seas
publisher	Nature Portfolio
publishDate	2018
url	https://doaj.org/article/939fbf4fc1434d6781964b81902f6ca8
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_version_	1718388331875663872

Effect of small scale transport processes on phytoplankton distribution in coastal seas

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