Ecological indications for long-term variations of Atlantic inflow into the northwestern North Sea ...

• Main Author: Corten, Ad
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: unknown
• Published: ASC 2002 - Q - Theme session 2024
• Subjects: Fisheries and aquaculture; Ecosystem observation, processes and dynamics; artica
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.17895/ices.pub.25443304; https://ices-library.figshare.com/articles/conference_contribution/Ecological_indications_for_long-term_variations_of_Atlantic_inflow_into_the_northwestern_North_Sea/25443304

No abstracts are to be cited without prior reference to the author.Plankton indicator species for Atlantic water in the northwestern North Sea showed a sustained decline in the period 1965-1980. This indicated a decline of Atlantic inflow, or at least of the content of Atlantic water in the inflow during this period. The decline of Atlantic influence coincided with a shift of herring spawning grounds and a reduction of herring recruitment. At the same time the sprat stock in the northwestern North Sea expanded. Both phenomena could be explained by a reduced inflow of Atlantic water. Earlier shifts of herring spawning grounds between Aberdeen Bank and Shetland Orkney suggests that long-term variations in Atlantic inflow in the northwestern North Sea are a regular phenomenon. The same conclusion can be drawn from long-term cyclic variations in growth rate of the bivalve Artica islandica. The postulated variations of Atlantic inflow into the northwestern North Sea could be related to the Russell cycle in the ...