Small-scale temporal variations in biogeochemical features in the Strait of Gibraltar, Mediterranean side - the role of NACW and the interface oscillation

• Published in: Journal of Marine Systems
• Main Authors: Gomez, F, Gorsky, G, Striby, L, Vargas, Jm, Gonzalez, N, Picheral, M, Garcia-Lafuente, J, Varela, M, Goutx, M.
• Other Authors: Observatoire océanologique de Banyuls (OOB), Sorbonne Université (SU)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Laboratoire d'océanographie de Villefranche (LOV), Observatoire océanologique de Villefranche-sur-mer (OOVM), Université Pierre et Marie Curie - Paris 6 (UPMC)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Pierre et Marie Curie - Paris 6 (UPMC)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Laboratoire de Microbiologie Marine, Université de la Méditerranée - Aix-Marseille 2-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: HAL CCSD 2001
• Subjects: [SDU.STU.OC]Sciences of the Universe [physics]/Earth Sciences/Oceanography; North Atlantic
• Online Access: https://hal.science/hal-03483044; https://doi.org/10.1016/S0924-7963(01)00059-8

On the Mediterranean side of the Strait of Gibraltar, the distribution of physical, chemical and biological variables (temperature, salinity, nutrients, chlorophyll a, lipids, particles size and plankton abundance) was examined. Sampling was carried out between the surface and 150 m at a fixed station over a 24-h time series. The patterns observed were related to the overlaying of different processes. The Atlantic-Mediterranean interface acts as a strong pycnocline and its vertical oscillation accounts for the gross distribution of nutrients, particles. and living biomass. Injection of North Atlantic Central Water (NACW) into the upper layer occurs at the sill each semidiurnal tidal cycle (every 12 h). As a consequence, in the upper Atlantic layer the NACW was observed every 12 h in the trough of the interface oscillation, whereas Surface Atlantic Water (SAW) dominated in the crest at the fixed station. The initially nutrient-rich NACW was associated with eutrophic signatures such as high chlorophyll, large cells and low turbidity; The nutrient depleted SAW was associated with oligotrophic signatures such as low chlorophyll. small cells and high turbidity, The distribution of lipid biotracers at the depth of the chlorophyll maxima (10-40 m) depicted a similar trend with abundant chloroplast lipids and a low lipolysis index in NACW-enriched waters, and a high lipolysis index and abundant zooplankton tracers in SAW especially at night. During the eastward advection of Atlantic water, the nutrient content of NACW is likely to be assimilated by phytoplankton. A scenario is proposed for explaining changes in phytoplankton maxima composition during the time series observations, taking into account the timing of the NACW injection at the sill, the diurnal cycle and zooplankton grazing. Although more studies over a longer temporal scale are necessary to validate this scenario, our observations show the scale of daily variations in the physical/biological coupling in the Strait and the implications for nutrient and ...