New Production of the NW Iberian Shelf during the Upwelling Season over the period 1982–1999

15 páginas, 4 figuras, 2 tablas New production (NP) is calculated for NW Iberian shelf waters from 421 to 431N (3500km2), at the fortnight, upwelling-season (March–October) and inter-annual time-scales. The time series used are (1) upwelling rates (daily values of offshore Ekman transport from 1982...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Deep Sea Research Part I: Oceanographic Research Papers
Main Authors: Álvarez-Salgado, Xosé Antón, Beloso, S., Joint, Ian, Nogueira, E., Chou, L., Pérez, Fiz F., Groom, Steve, Cabanas, J. M., Rees, Andrew P., Elskens, M.
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2002
Subjects:
Upwelling
Nutrients
New production
NW Iberian margin
Morena
North Atlantic
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/10261/52745
https://doi.org/10.1016/S0967-0637(02)00094-8
Description
Summary:15 páginas, 4 figuras, 2 tablas New production (NP) is calculated for NW Iberian shelf waters from 421 to 431N (3500km2), at the fortnight, upwelling-season (March–October) and inter-annual time-scales. The time series used are (1) upwelling rates (daily values of offshore Ekman transport from 1982 to 1999), (2) bottom shelf temperatures (twice a week values from 1987 to 1999), and (3) the nutrient–temperature relationships ofupwelled Eastern North Atlantic Central Water (ENACW) obtained during 14 hydrographic cruises to the study area (between 1977 and 1998). Marked inter-annual variability is observed, both at the fortnight and the seasonal time-scales. Average NP over the upwelling-season ranged from 330 to 815mg Cm 2 d 1 (mean, 4907145mg Cm 2 d 1) in the 1982–1999 period. Large inter-annual changes ofupwelling rates are the reason behind the NP fluctuations: 83% ofthe variability ofNP can be explained by the offshore Ekman Transport ð QX Þ: NP is compared with satellite-derived net microbial community production (NCP) during the 1998– 1999 upwelling seasons, when SeaWiFS images are available. An average upwelling-season NP/NCP ratio of0.33 was obtained, indicating that 67% of NCP is respired in situ and 33% is exported off-shelf to the surrounding oligotrophic ocean. Financial support for this work came from EU contracts MAS3-CT97-0076 (OMEX II-II), MAS2-CT93-0065 (‘MORENA’) and MAS1-CT90-0017 (‘The Control ofPhytoplankton Dominance’). Peer reviewed

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