Cyclonic cold-core eddy in the eastern North Atlantic. II. Nutients, phytoplankton and bacteriaplankton.

Lochte, Karin and Pfannkuche, Olaf (1987) Cyclonic cold-core eddy in the eastern North Atlantic. II. Nutients, phytoplankton and bacteriaplankton. Open Access Marine Ecology Progress Series, 39 . pp. 153-167.

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Abstract

A cyclonic cold-core eddy in the Northeast Atlantic of about 100 km in diameter at the sea
surface was investigated in May 1985, approximately 3 wk after it had separated from the Polar Front. A strong thermocline, which was shallower but more pronounced than in the ambient water, separated a warm surface layer within the eddy from deeper cold water, while horizontal salinity gradients marked the boundary to the ambient water. The cold-core eddy could be distinguished from amblent Northeast Atlantic water in terms of its nutrient chemistry, phytoplankton species distribution and abundance, bacterial numbers and cell size. The surface layer of the eddy was distinct from deeper eddy water, and was characterized by high concentrations of chlorophyll a, total phytoplankton biomass, dinoflagellates and bacteria. At the eddy's margin diatoms were predominant. It is argued that the physical isolation of the eddy surface layer due to the formation of a shallow thermocline led to rapid utilisation of nutrients.
This probably enabled the development of a dinoflagellate-dominated phytoplankton population and of organisms capable of heterotrophic regenerative processes.

Document Type: Article
Research affiliation: OceanRep > GEOMAR > FB2 Marine Biogeochemistry > FB2-BI Biological Oceanography
Refereed: Yes
Open Access Journal?: No
Publisher: Inter Research
Date Deposited: 17 Mar 2010 13:38
Last Modified: 04 May 2018 11:58
URI: https://oceanrep.geomar.de/id/eprint/6864

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