Aquatic Sciences Meeting, Albuquerque 2001

PC07 Spatial and Temporal Connections

Date: Wednesday, February 14, 2001

Location: Southwest Hall

Wingard, C, E, Oregon State University, Corvallis OR, USA, cwingard@oce.orst.edu

Cowles, T, J, Oregon State University, Corvallis OR, USA, tjc@oce.orst.edu

Barth, J, A, Oregon State University, Corvallis OR, USA, barth@oce.orst.edu

Letelier, R, , Oregon State University, Corvallis OR, USA, letelier@oce.orst.edu

Pierce, S, , Oregon State University, Corvallis OR, USA, spierce@oce.orst.edu

OPTICALLY-DERIVED SPATIAL AND TEMPORAL PATTERNS OF PHYTOPLANKTON DISTRIBUTIONS IN THE NORTHERN CALIFORNIA CURRENT SYSTEM

High-resolution, mesoscale surveys of phytoplankton distributions and abundances in the northern California Current system along the Oregon/California coast were obtained with a towed, undulating system (SeaSoar). The surveys were conducted in both the spring and late summer as part of the U.S. GLOBEC Northeast Pacific Study. The SeaSoar was equipped with a CTD, PAR sensor, two fluorometers, and a multi-wavelength absorption/attenuation meter (AC-9). The SeaSoar data was combined with, and compared to, measurements of surface meteorological conditions, sea-surface properties (including fast-repetition rate fluorometry and AC-9 measurements) obtained from the shipboard flow-thru system, shipboard ADCP-derived velocity fields, and satellite color imagery. Spatially distinct patterns were correlated with sharp gradients in both the mesoscale physical structure and the velocity fields during both cruises. These patterns were associated with periods of upwelling and were influenced by the presence of the coastal promontory at Cape Blanco, OR, as well as by the local bathymetry of Heceta Bank. Periods of downwelling, observed during the spring cruise, tended to degrade the spatial gradients in properties.

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Aquatic Sciences Meeting, Albuquerque 2001

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