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The COPAS’08 expedition to the Patagonian Shelf: Physical and environmental conditions during the 2008 coccolithophore bloom

The COPAS’08 expedition to the Patagonian Shelf: Physical and environmental conditions during the 2008 coccolithophore bloom
The COPAS’08 expedition to the Patagonian Shelf: Physical and environmental conditions during the 2008 coccolithophore bloom
Here we present observations of the hydrography of the Patagonian Shelf, shelf break and offshore waters, with reference to the environmental conditions present during the period of peak coccolithophore abundance. Analysis of a hydrographic dataset collected in December 2008 (austral spring/summer), as part of the Coccolithophores of the Patagonian Shelf (COPAS) research cruise, identified 5 distinct surface water masses in the region between 37°S and 55°S. These water masses, identified through salinity gradients, displayed varying mixed layer depths, macronutrient inventories and chlorophyll-a fluorescence. Subantarctic Shelf Water (SSW), located to the north of the Falkland Islands and extending north along the shelf break, was also host to a large coccolithophore bloom. The similarities between the distribution of calcite, as seen in remote sensing data, and SSW indicate that the coccolithophore bloom encountered conditions conducive to bloom development within this water mass. Analysis of chemical and environmental data also collected during the COPAS cruise revealed that many of the commonly cited conditions for coccolithophore bloom development were present within SSW (e.g. low N:P ratio, high N:Si ratio, shallow mixed layer depth). In the other water masses present on the Patagonian Shelf greater variability in these same parameters may explain the more diffuse concentration of calcite, and the smaller size of possible coccolithophore blooms. The distribution of SSW is strongly influenced by the latitudinal variation in shelf break frontal width, which varies from 20 to 200 km, and consequently strong hydrographic controls underlie the position of the coccolithophore bloom during austral summer.
0278-4343
1907-1923
Painter, Stuart C.
29e32f35-4ee8-4654-b305-4dbe5a312295
Poulton, Alex J.
14bf64a7-d617-4913-b882-e8495543e717
Allen, John T.
b251a62b-f443-4591-b695-9aa8c4d73741
Pidcock, Rosalind
dc40dada-68fe-4fe9-84c2-9ec78014d32c
Balch, William M.
18270567-fc45-4bc9-bd82-253d473e9564
Painter, Stuart C.
29e32f35-4ee8-4654-b305-4dbe5a312295
Poulton, Alex J.
14bf64a7-d617-4913-b882-e8495543e717
Allen, John T.
b251a62b-f443-4591-b695-9aa8c4d73741
Pidcock, Rosalind
dc40dada-68fe-4fe9-84c2-9ec78014d32c
Balch, William M.
18270567-fc45-4bc9-bd82-253d473e9564

Painter, Stuart C., Poulton, Alex J., Allen, John T., Pidcock, Rosalind and Balch, William M. (2010) The COPAS’08 expedition to the Patagonian Shelf: Physical and environmental conditions during the 2008 coccolithophore bloom. Continental Shelf Research, 30 (18), 1907-1923. (doi:10.1016/j.csr.2010.08.013).

Record type: Article

Abstract

Here we present observations of the hydrography of the Patagonian Shelf, shelf break and offshore waters, with reference to the environmental conditions present during the period of peak coccolithophore abundance. Analysis of a hydrographic dataset collected in December 2008 (austral spring/summer), as part of the Coccolithophores of the Patagonian Shelf (COPAS) research cruise, identified 5 distinct surface water masses in the region between 37°S and 55°S. These water masses, identified through salinity gradients, displayed varying mixed layer depths, macronutrient inventories and chlorophyll-a fluorescence. Subantarctic Shelf Water (SSW), located to the north of the Falkland Islands and extending north along the shelf break, was also host to a large coccolithophore bloom. The similarities between the distribution of calcite, as seen in remote sensing data, and SSW indicate that the coccolithophore bloom encountered conditions conducive to bloom development within this water mass. Analysis of chemical and environmental data also collected during the COPAS cruise revealed that many of the commonly cited conditions for coccolithophore bloom development were present within SSW (e.g. low N:P ratio, high N:Si ratio, shallow mixed layer depth). In the other water masses present on the Patagonian Shelf greater variability in these same parameters may explain the more diffuse concentration of calcite, and the smaller size of possible coccolithophore blooms. The distribution of SSW is strongly influenced by the latitudinal variation in shelf break frontal width, which varies from 20 to 200 km, and consequently strong hydrographic controls underlie the position of the coccolithophore bloom during austral summer.

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More information

Published date: 31 October 2010
Organisations: Marine Biogeochemistry

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 167131
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/167131
ISSN: 0278-4343
PURE UUID: 5b2de058-eba7-4d74-91fb-8a3fbc598ef2

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Date deposited: 08 Nov 2010 13:18
Last modified: 14 Mar 2024 02:14

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Contributors

Author: Stuart C. Painter
Author: Alex J. Poulton
Author: John T. Allen
Author: Rosalind Pidcock
Author: William M. Balch

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