Sensitivity of advective transfer times across the North Atlantic Ocean to the temporal and spatial resolution of model velocity data: Implication for European eel larval transport

• Published in: Dynamics of Atmospheres and Oceans
• Main Authors: Blanke, Bruno, Bonhommeau, Sylvain, Grima, Nicolas, Drillet, Yann
• Other Authors: Laboratoire de physique des océans (LPO), Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Institut Français de Recherche pour l'Exploitation de la Mer (IFREMER)-Université de Brest (UBO)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Ecosystèmes Marins Exploités (UMR EME), Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Institut Français de Recherche pour l'Exploitation de la Mer (IFREMER)-Université de Montpellier (UM), Mercator Océan, Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Institut Français de Recherche pour l'Exploitation de la Mer (IFREMER)-Service hydrographique et océanographique de la Marine-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Météo-France
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: HAL CCSD 2012
• Subjects: Ocean modeling; Lagrangian trajectories; Ocean circulation; Oceanic eddies; European eel migration time; [SDU.STU.OC]Sciences of the Universe [physics]/Earth Sciences/Oceanography; Anguilla anguilla; North Atlantic
• Online Access: https://hal.science/hal-00717384; https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dynatmoce.2012.04.003

International audience European eel (Anguilla anguilla) larvae achieve one of the longest larval migrations of the marine realm, i.e., more than 6000 km from their spawning grounds in the Sargasso Sea to European continental shelves. The duration of this migration remains debated, between 7 months and 3 years. This information is, however, crucial since it determines the period over which larvae are affected by environmental conditions and hence the subsequent recruitment success. We investigate the pathways and duration of trans-Atlantic connections using 3 years of high-resolution (daily, 1/12°) velocity fields available from a Mercator-Océan model configuration without data assimilation. We study specifically the effect of spatial and temporal resolutions on our estimates by applying various filters in time (from daily to 12-day averages) and space (from 1/12° to 1° gridcell aggregation) to the nominal model outputs. Numerical particles are released in the presumed European eel spawning area and considered as passive tracers at three specific depths (around 0, 50, and 200 m). We diagnose particularly the intensity of the water transfer between suitable control sections that encompass the eel larva distribution. Transit ages are also investigated, with a particular focus on the pathways that minimize the connection times between the western and eastern North Atlantic. We show that small-scale structures (eddies and filaments) contribute to faster connections though they also correspond to additional complexity in trajectories. The shortest pathways mostly follow the Gulf Stream and the North Atlantic Drift, whereas interior connections require longer transfers that prove less compatible with biological observations.