Phytoplankton Decline in the Eastern North Pacific Transition Zone Associated with Atmospheric Blocking
Global climate change can significantly influence oceanic phytoplankton dynamics, and thus biogeochemical cycles and marine food webs. However, associative explanations based on the correlation between chlorophyll-a concentration (Chl-a) and climatic indices is inadequate to describe the mechanism o...
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Online Access: | https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/msc_facpub/2035 https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.14737 |
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ftusouthflorida:oai:digitalcommons.usf.edu:msc_facpub-2893 2023-07-30T04:07:09+02:00 Phytoplankton Decline in the Eastern North Pacific Transition Zone Associated with Atmospheric Blocking Le, Chengfeng Wu, Shuyu Hu, Chuanmin Beck, Marcus W. Yang, Xuchao 2019-01-01T08:00:00Z https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/msc_facpub/2035 https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.14737 unknown Digital Commons @ University of South Florida https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/msc_facpub/2035 doi:10.1111/gcb.14737 https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.14737 Marine Science Faculty Publications atmospheric blocking Ekman transport global change jet stream North Pacific transition zone phytoplankton Life Sciences article 2019 ftusouthflorida https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.14737 2023-07-13T21:02:47Z Global climate change can significantly influence oceanic phytoplankton dynamics, and thus biogeochemical cycles and marine food webs. However, associative explanations based on the correlation between chlorophyll-a concentration (Chl-a) and climatic indices is inadequate to describe the mechanism of the connection between climate change, large-scale atmospheric dynamics, and phytoplankton variability. Here, by analyzing multiple satellite observations of Chl-a and atmospheric conditions from National Center for Environmental Prediction/National Center for Atmospheric Research reanalysis datasets, we show that high-latitude atmospheric blocking events over Alaska are the primary drivers of the recent decline of Chl-a in the eastern North Pacific transition zone. These blocking events were associated with the persistence of large-scale atmosphere pressure fields that decreased westerly winds and southward Ekman transport over the subarctic ocean gyre. Reduced southward Ekman transport leads to reductions in nutrient availability to phytoplankton in the transition zone. The findings describe a previously unidentified climatic factor that contributed to the recent decline of phytoplankton in this region and propose a mechanism of the top-down teleconnection between the high-latitude atmospheric circulation anomalies and the subtropical oceanic primary productivity. The results also highlight the importance of understanding teleconnection among atmosphere–ocean interactions as a means to anticipate future climate change impacts on oceanic primary production. Article in Journal/Newspaper Subarctic Alaska University of South Florida St. Petersburg: Digital USFSP Pacific Global Change Biology 25 10 3485 3493 |
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Open Polar |
collection |
University of South Florida St. Petersburg: Digital USFSP |
op_collection_id |
ftusouthflorida |
language |
unknown |
topic |
atmospheric blocking Ekman transport global change jet stream North Pacific transition zone phytoplankton Life Sciences |
spellingShingle |
atmospheric blocking Ekman transport global change jet stream North Pacific transition zone phytoplankton Life Sciences Le, Chengfeng Wu, Shuyu Hu, Chuanmin Beck, Marcus W. Yang, Xuchao Phytoplankton Decline in the Eastern North Pacific Transition Zone Associated with Atmospheric Blocking |
topic_facet |
atmospheric blocking Ekman transport global change jet stream North Pacific transition zone phytoplankton Life Sciences |
description |
Global climate change can significantly influence oceanic phytoplankton dynamics, and thus biogeochemical cycles and marine food webs. However, associative explanations based on the correlation between chlorophyll-a concentration (Chl-a) and climatic indices is inadequate to describe the mechanism of the connection between climate change, large-scale atmospheric dynamics, and phytoplankton variability. Here, by analyzing multiple satellite observations of Chl-a and atmospheric conditions from National Center for Environmental Prediction/National Center for Atmospheric Research reanalysis datasets, we show that high-latitude atmospheric blocking events over Alaska are the primary drivers of the recent decline of Chl-a in the eastern North Pacific transition zone. These blocking events were associated with the persistence of large-scale atmosphere pressure fields that decreased westerly winds and southward Ekman transport over the subarctic ocean gyre. Reduced southward Ekman transport leads to reductions in nutrient availability to phytoplankton in the transition zone. The findings describe a previously unidentified climatic factor that contributed to the recent decline of phytoplankton in this region and propose a mechanism of the top-down teleconnection between the high-latitude atmospheric circulation anomalies and the subtropical oceanic primary productivity. The results also highlight the importance of understanding teleconnection among atmosphere–ocean interactions as a means to anticipate future climate change impacts on oceanic primary production. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Le, Chengfeng Wu, Shuyu Hu, Chuanmin Beck, Marcus W. Yang, Xuchao |
author_facet |
Le, Chengfeng Wu, Shuyu Hu, Chuanmin Beck, Marcus W. Yang, Xuchao |
author_sort |
Le, Chengfeng |
title |
Phytoplankton Decline in the Eastern North Pacific Transition Zone Associated with Atmospheric Blocking |
title_short |
Phytoplankton Decline in the Eastern North Pacific Transition Zone Associated with Atmospheric Blocking |
title_full |
Phytoplankton Decline in the Eastern North Pacific Transition Zone Associated with Atmospheric Blocking |
title_fullStr |
Phytoplankton Decline in the Eastern North Pacific Transition Zone Associated with Atmospheric Blocking |
title_full_unstemmed |
Phytoplankton Decline in the Eastern North Pacific Transition Zone Associated with Atmospheric Blocking |
title_sort |
phytoplankton decline in the eastern north pacific transition zone associated with atmospheric blocking |
publisher |
Digital Commons @ University of South Florida |
publishDate |
2019 |
url |
https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/msc_facpub/2035 https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.14737 |
geographic |
Pacific |
geographic_facet |
Pacific |
genre |
Subarctic Alaska |
genre_facet |
Subarctic Alaska |
op_source |
Marine Science Faculty Publications |
op_relation |
https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/msc_facpub/2035 doi:10.1111/gcb.14737 https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.14737 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.14737 |
container_title |
Global Change Biology |
container_volume |
25 |
container_issue |
10 |
container_start_page |
3485 |
op_container_end_page |
3493 |
_version_ |
1772820296294727680 |