Spring bloom onset in the Nordic Seas
The North Atlantic spring bloom is a massive annual growth event of marine phytoplankton, tiny free-floating algae that form the base of the ocean's food web and generates a large fraction of the global primary production of organic matter. The conditions that trigger the onset of the spring bl...
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:a322c86e1bb54943b8d2800bc31179d5 2023-05-15T15:06:55+02:00 Spring bloom onset in the Nordic Seas A. Mignot R. Ferrari K. A. Mork 2016-06-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-13-3485-2016 https://doaj.org/article/a322c86e1bb54943b8d2800bc31179d5 EN eng Copernicus Publications http://www.biogeosciences.net/13/3485/2016/bg-13-3485-2016.pdf https://doaj.org/toc/1726-4170 https://doaj.org/toc/1726-4189 1726-4170 1726-4189 doi:10.5194/bg-13-3485-2016 https://doaj.org/article/a322c86e1bb54943b8d2800bc31179d5 Biogeosciences, Vol 13, Iss 11, Pp 3485-3502 (2016) Ecology QH540-549.5 Life QH501-531 Geology QE1-996.5 article 2016 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-13-3485-2016 2022-12-31T11:50:03Z The North Atlantic spring bloom is a massive annual growth event of marine phytoplankton, tiny free-floating algae that form the base of the ocean's food web and generates a large fraction of the global primary production of organic matter. The conditions that trigger the onset of the spring bloom in the Nordic Seas, at the northern edge of the North Atlantic, are studied using in situ data from six bio-optical floats released north of the Arctic Circle. It is often assumed that spring blooms start as soon as phytoplankton cells daily irradiance is sufficiently abundant that division rates exceed losses. The bio-optical float data instead suggest the tantalizing hypothesis that Nordic Seas blooms start when the photoperiod, the number of daily light hours experienced by phytoplankton, exceeds a critical value, independently of division rates. The photoperiod trigger may have developed at high latitudes where photosynthesis is impossible during polar nights and phytoplankton enters into a dormant stage in winter. While the first accumulation of biomass recorded by the bio-optical floats is consistent with the photoperiod hypothesis, it is possible that some biomass accumulation started before the critical photoperiod but at levels too low to be detected by the fluorometers. More precise observations are needed to test the photoperiod hypothesis. Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic Nordic Seas North Atlantic Phytoplankton Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Arctic Biogeosciences 13 11 3485 3502 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
Ecology QH540-549.5 Life QH501-531 Geology QE1-996.5 |
spellingShingle |
Ecology QH540-549.5 Life QH501-531 Geology QE1-996.5 A. Mignot R. Ferrari K. A. Mork Spring bloom onset in the Nordic Seas |
topic_facet |
Ecology QH540-549.5 Life QH501-531 Geology QE1-996.5 |
description |
The North Atlantic spring bloom is a massive annual growth event of marine phytoplankton, tiny free-floating algae that form the base of the ocean's food web and generates a large fraction of the global primary production of organic matter. The conditions that trigger the onset of the spring bloom in the Nordic Seas, at the northern edge of the North Atlantic, are studied using in situ data from six bio-optical floats released north of the Arctic Circle. It is often assumed that spring blooms start as soon as phytoplankton cells daily irradiance is sufficiently abundant that division rates exceed losses. The bio-optical float data instead suggest the tantalizing hypothesis that Nordic Seas blooms start when the photoperiod, the number of daily light hours experienced by phytoplankton, exceeds a critical value, independently of division rates. The photoperiod trigger may have developed at high latitudes where photosynthesis is impossible during polar nights and phytoplankton enters into a dormant stage in winter. While the first accumulation of biomass recorded by the bio-optical floats is consistent with the photoperiod hypothesis, it is possible that some biomass accumulation started before the critical photoperiod but at levels too low to be detected by the fluorometers. More precise observations are needed to test the photoperiod hypothesis. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
A. Mignot R. Ferrari K. A. Mork |
author_facet |
A. Mignot R. Ferrari K. A. Mork |
author_sort |
A. Mignot |
title |
Spring bloom onset in the Nordic Seas |
title_short |
Spring bloom onset in the Nordic Seas |
title_full |
Spring bloom onset in the Nordic Seas |
title_fullStr |
Spring bloom onset in the Nordic Seas |
title_full_unstemmed |
Spring bloom onset in the Nordic Seas |
title_sort |
spring bloom onset in the nordic seas |
publisher |
Copernicus Publications |
publishDate |
2016 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-13-3485-2016 https://doaj.org/article/a322c86e1bb54943b8d2800bc31179d5 |
geographic |
Arctic |
geographic_facet |
Arctic |
genre |
Arctic Nordic Seas North Atlantic Phytoplankton |
genre_facet |
Arctic Nordic Seas North Atlantic Phytoplankton |
op_source |
Biogeosciences, Vol 13, Iss 11, Pp 3485-3502 (2016) |
op_relation |
http://www.biogeosciences.net/13/3485/2016/bg-13-3485-2016.pdf https://doaj.org/toc/1726-4170 https://doaj.org/toc/1726-4189 1726-4170 1726-4189 doi:10.5194/bg-13-3485-2016 https://doaj.org/article/a322c86e1bb54943b8d2800bc31179d5 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-13-3485-2016 |
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Biogeosciences |
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13 |
container_issue |
11 |
container_start_page |
3485 |
op_container_end_page |
3502 |
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1766338504204222464 |