Interdecadal variation of the transition zone chlorophyll front: A physical-biological model simulation between 1960 and

• Main Authors: F. Chai, M. Jiang, R. T. Barber, R. C. Dugdale, Y. Chao
• Other Authors: The Pennsylvania State University CiteSeerX Archives
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: 2003
• Subjects: Pacific; Subarctic
• Online Access: http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.527.6934; http://usjgofs.whoi.edu/mzweb/chai_jo_2003.pdf

The North Pacific Transition Zone (NPTZ) is bounded by two oceanographic fronts at approximately 30-32oN (Subtropical Front) and 42-45oN (Subarctic Front) in the central Pacific. The Transition Zone Chlorophyll Front (TZCF) is a biological front within the NPTZ that separates the low chlorophyll subtropical gyres and the high chlorophyll subarctic gyres in the central Pacific Ocean. The interdecadal climate variability affects marine ecosystems in both the subtropical and subarctic gyres, consequently the position of the TZCF. A three-dimensional physical-biological model has been used to study interdecadal variation of the TZCF using a retrospective analysis of a 30-year (1960-1990) model simulation. The physical-biological model is forced with the monthly mean heat flux and surface wind stress from the Comprehensive Ocean Atmosphere Data Set (COADS). The modeled TZCF, operationally defined as the isopleth of 0.2 mg/m3 surface chlorophyll, is located between 26oN and 27oN in the central North Pacific during the winter and between 34oN and 35oN during the summer, which agrees with the seasonal