Pulsed phytoplankton supply to the rocky subtidal zone: influence of internal waves.
- 1 March 1993
- journal article
- Published by Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
- Vol. 90 (5), 1686-1690
- https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.90.5.1686
Abstract
Hydrographic measurements indicate that the thermocline and the phytoplankton-rich chlorophyll maximum layer are vertically displaced over a rocky pinnacle in the central Gulf of Maine by internal waves with maximum amplitudes of 27 m. Such predictable downwelling events are linked to rapid, 2- to 3-fold increases in chlorophyll a, an indicator of phytoplankton concentration, in pulses of warm water recorded 4 cm above the bottom (29-m depth). The 1.5-5.6 degrees C temperature fluctuations had an average period of 10.6 min and were generated on both ebb and flood tides. Local lee waves and the arrival of solitons propagated from Georges Bank are hypothesized to explain the timing of the internal waves. Because internal waves and chlorophyll maxima are pervasive features of stratified temperate seas, this mechanism of food coupling should be common in other rocky subtidal habitats.Keywords
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