the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License. Ocean Science Influence of Rossby waves on primary production from a coupled physical-biogeochemical model in the North Atlantic Ocean

• Main Authors: G. Charria, I. Dadou, P. Cipollini
• Other Authors: The Pennsylvania State University CiteSeerX Archives
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: 2007
• Subjects: North Atlantic
• Online Access: http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.659.4077; http://www.ocean-sci.net/4/199/2008/os-4-199-2008.pdf

Abstract. Rossby waves appear to have a clear signature on surface chlorophyll concentrations which can be explained by a combination of vertical and horizontal mechanisms. In this study, we investigate the role of the different physical processes in the north Atlantic to explain the surface chloro-phyll signatures and the consequences on primary produc-tion, using a 3-D coupled physical/biogeochemical model for the year 1998. The analysis at 20 given latitudes, mainly located in the subtropical gyre, where Rossby waves are strongly correlated with a surface chlorophyll signature, shows the important contribution of horizontal advection and of vertical advec-tion and diffusion of inorganic dissolved nitrogen. The main control mechanism differs according to the biogeochemical background conditions of the area. The surface chlorophyll anomalies, induced by these phys-ical mechanisms, have an impact on primary production. We estimate that Rossby waves induce, locally in space and time, increases (generally associated with the chlorophyll wave crest) and decreases (generally associated with the chloro-phyll wave trough) in primary production, ∼±20 % of the estimated background primary production. This symmetri-cal situation suggests a net weak effect of Rossby waves on primary production. 1