Regional variations in the influence of mesoscale eddies on near-surface chlorophyll
Date
2014-12-01Author
Gaube, Peter
Concept link
McGillicuddy, Dennis J.
Concept link
Chelton, Dudley B.
Concept link
Behrenfeld, Michael J.
Concept link
Strutton, Peter G.
Concept link
Metadata
Show full item recordCitable URI
https://hdl.handle.net/1912/7157As published
https://doi.org/10.1002/2014JC010111DOI
10.1002/2014JC010111Abstract
Eddies can influence biogeochemical cycles through a variety of mechanisms, including the excitation of vertical velocities and the horizontal advection of nutrients and ecosystems, both around the eddy periphery by rotational currents and by the trapping of fluid and subsequent transport by the eddy. In this study, we present an analysis of the influence of mesoscale ocean eddies on near-surface chlorophyll (CHL) estimated from satellite measurements of ocean color. The influences of horizontal advection, trapping, and upwelling/downwelling on CHL are analyzed in an eddy-centric frame of reference by collocating satellite observations to eddy interiors, as defined by their sea surface height signatures. The influence of mesoscale eddies on CHL varies regionally. In most boundary current regions, cyclonic eddies exhibit positive CHL anomalies and anticyclonic eddies contain negative CHL anomalies. In the interior of the South Indian Ocean, however, the opposite occurs. The various mechanisms by which eddies can influence phytoplankton communities are summarized and regions where the observed CHL response to eddies is consistent with one or more of the mechanisms are discussed. This study does not attempt to link the observed regional variability definitively to any particular mechanism but provides a global overview of how eddies influence CHL anomalies.
Description
Author Posting. © American Geophysical Union, 2014. This article is posted here by permission of American Geophysical Union for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans 119 (2014): 8195–8220, doi:10.1002/2014JC010111.
Collections
Suggested Citation
Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans 119 (2014): 8195–8220Related items
Showing items related by title, author, creator and subject.
-
Satellite observations of chlorophyll, phytoplankton biomass, and Ekman pumping in nonlinear mesoscale eddies
Gaube, Peter; Chelton, Dudley B.; Strutton, Peter G.; Behrenfeld, Michael J. (John Wiley & Sons, 2013-12-02)Nonlinear mesoscale eddies can influence biogeochemical cycles in the upper ocean through vertical and horizontal advection of nutrients and marine organisms. The relative importance of these two processes depends on the ... -
Deep eddies in the Gulf of Mexico observed with floats
Furey, Heather H.; Bower, Amy S.; Perez-Brunius, Paula; Hamilton, Peter; Leben, Robert (American Meteorological Society, 2018-11-07)A new set of deep float trajectory data collected in the Gulf of Mexico from 2011 to 2015 at 1500- and 2500-m depths is analyzed to describe mesoscale processes, with particular attention paid to the western Gulf. Wavelet ... -
Anomalous chlorofluorocarbon uptake by mesoscale eddies in the Drake Passage region
Song, Hajoon; Marshall, John C.; Gaube, Peter; McGillicuddy, Dennis J. (John Wiley & Sons, 2015-02-23)The role of mesoscale eddies in the uptake of anthropogenic chlorofluorocarbon-11 (CFC-11) gas is investigated with a 1/20° eddy-resolving numerical ocean model of a region of the Southern Ocean. With a relatively fast ...