Winter advection of iron can explain the summer phytoplankton bloom that extends 1000 km downstream of the Kerguelen Plateau in the Southern Ocean
The predominantly low-chlorophyll conditions of the Southern Ocean are punctuated by regions of elevated phytoplankton biomass, including a bloom in the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC) that extends for 1000 km downstream of the Kerguelen-Heard islands. Summer-time studies have demonstrated that...
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Sears Foundation Marine Research
2009
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Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1357/002224009789051218 http://ecite.utas.edu.au/71396 |
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ftunivtasecite:oai:ecite.utas.edu.au:71396 2023-05-15T14:02:30+02:00 Winter advection of iron can explain the summer phytoplankton bloom that extends 1000 km downstream of the Kerguelen Plateau in the Southern Ocean Mongin, M Abraham, ER Trull, T 2009 https://doi.org/10.1357/002224009789051218 http://ecite.utas.edu.au/71396 en eng Sears Foundation Marine Research http://dx.doi.org/10.1357/002224009789051218 Mongin, M and Abraham, ER and Trull, T, Winter advection of iron can explain the summer phytoplankton bloom that extends 1000 km downstream of the Kerguelen Plateau in the Southern Ocean, Journal of Marine Research, 67, (2) pp. 225-237. ISSN 0022-2402 (2009) [Refereed Article] http://ecite.utas.edu.au/71396 Earth Sciences Oceanography Chemical Oceanography Refereed Article PeerReviewed 2009 ftunivtasecite https://doi.org/10.1357/002224009789051218 2019-12-13T21:38:51Z The predominantly low-chlorophyll conditions of the Southern Ocean are punctuated by regions of elevated phytoplankton biomass, including a bloom in the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC) that extends for 1000 km downstream of the Kerguelen-Heard islands. Summer-time studies have demonstrated that iron from the islands and intervening shallow plateau (300-600 m) fuels localized production. Whether this supply, or alternatively iron brought to the surface by enhanced mixing in ACC eddies, drives the more extensive downstream bloom has not been addressed. We show that the extent and shape of the downstream bloom can be reproduced by simulating the winter-time spread of a slowly-decaying tracer (iron) from the islands and plateau using a satellite-altimetry based advection scheme. This suggests that mesoscale activity in the ACC plays a minor role in generating the enhanced biomass and emphasizes the importance of shallow bathymetry, large-scale advection, and winter-time observations in understanding the productivity of the Southern Ocean. Article in Journal/Newspaper Antarc* Antarctic Southern Ocean eCite UTAS (University of Tasmania) Antarctic Kerguelen Southern Ocean The Antarctic Journal of Marine Research 67 2 225 237 |
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Open Polar |
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eCite UTAS (University of Tasmania) |
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ftunivtasecite |
language |
English |
topic |
Earth Sciences Oceanography Chemical Oceanography |
spellingShingle |
Earth Sciences Oceanography Chemical Oceanography Mongin, M Abraham, ER Trull, T Winter advection of iron can explain the summer phytoplankton bloom that extends 1000 km downstream of the Kerguelen Plateau in the Southern Ocean |
topic_facet |
Earth Sciences Oceanography Chemical Oceanography |
description |
The predominantly low-chlorophyll conditions of the Southern Ocean are punctuated by regions of elevated phytoplankton biomass, including a bloom in the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC) that extends for 1000 km downstream of the Kerguelen-Heard islands. Summer-time studies have demonstrated that iron from the islands and intervening shallow plateau (300-600 m) fuels localized production. Whether this supply, or alternatively iron brought to the surface by enhanced mixing in ACC eddies, drives the more extensive downstream bloom has not been addressed. We show that the extent and shape of the downstream bloom can be reproduced by simulating the winter-time spread of a slowly-decaying tracer (iron) from the islands and plateau using a satellite-altimetry based advection scheme. This suggests that mesoscale activity in the ACC plays a minor role in generating the enhanced biomass and emphasizes the importance of shallow bathymetry, large-scale advection, and winter-time observations in understanding the productivity of the Southern Ocean. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Mongin, M Abraham, ER Trull, T |
author_facet |
Mongin, M Abraham, ER Trull, T |
author_sort |
Mongin, M |
title |
Winter advection of iron can explain the summer phytoplankton bloom that extends 1000 km downstream of the Kerguelen Plateau in the Southern Ocean |
title_short |
Winter advection of iron can explain the summer phytoplankton bloom that extends 1000 km downstream of the Kerguelen Plateau in the Southern Ocean |
title_full |
Winter advection of iron can explain the summer phytoplankton bloom that extends 1000 km downstream of the Kerguelen Plateau in the Southern Ocean |
title_fullStr |
Winter advection of iron can explain the summer phytoplankton bloom that extends 1000 km downstream of the Kerguelen Plateau in the Southern Ocean |
title_full_unstemmed |
Winter advection of iron can explain the summer phytoplankton bloom that extends 1000 km downstream of the Kerguelen Plateau in the Southern Ocean |
title_sort |
winter advection of iron can explain the summer phytoplankton bloom that extends 1000 km downstream of the kerguelen plateau in the southern ocean |
publisher |
Sears Foundation Marine Research |
publishDate |
2009 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1357/002224009789051218 http://ecite.utas.edu.au/71396 |
geographic |
Antarctic Kerguelen Southern Ocean The Antarctic |
geographic_facet |
Antarctic Kerguelen Southern Ocean The Antarctic |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctic Southern Ocean |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctic Southern Ocean |
op_relation |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1357/002224009789051218 Mongin, M and Abraham, ER and Trull, T, Winter advection of iron can explain the summer phytoplankton bloom that extends 1000 km downstream of the Kerguelen Plateau in the Southern Ocean, Journal of Marine Research, 67, (2) pp. 225-237. ISSN 0022-2402 (2009) [Refereed Article] http://ecite.utas.edu.au/71396 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1357/002224009789051218 |
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Journal of Marine Research |
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67 |
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2 |
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225 |
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237 |
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1766272770831810560 |