Chen C.1, R. Ji.2, P. J. S. Franks3,
D.W. Townsend4, E.G.
Durbin5, R. C. Beardsley6, and R.W. Houghton7
1School for Marine Science and Technology, University of
Massachusetts-Dartmouth, New Bedford, MA 02744
2Department of Marine Sciences, University of Georgia, Athens, GA
30602
3Marine Life Research Group, Scripps Institution of Oceanography,
University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093-0218
4School of Marine Sciences, 5741 Libby Hall, University of Maine,
Orono, Maine 04469
5Graduate School of Oceanography, University of Rhode Island, South
Ferry Rd, Narragansett, RI 02882
6Department of Physical Oceanography, Woods Hole Oceanographic
Institution, Woods Hole, MA 02543.
7Lamont Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University, Palisades,
NY 10964
The 1999 March SeaWiFS images detected an intensive phytoplankton
bloom on the southeastern flank of Georges Bank (GB). A 3-D coupled
physical (FVCOM) and biological (9-component NPZD) model was applied
to the Gulf of Maine/GB region to examine the impact of a Scotian
Shelf Water "crossover" on the plankton dynamics on GB.
Process-oriented modeling experiments show that the formation of the
phytoplankton bloom on the southeastern flank of GB is related to 1)
transport of the Scotian Shelf Water, 2) wind- and tidal-induced
vertical mixing and surface cooling, and 3) the location of the
salinity front. Under a condition with sufficient supplies of
nutrients from the slope, the bloom could occur due to an in situ
growth of phytoplankton near the slope where the stabilized salinity
front is located. The model results suggest that an accurate
simulation of the spatial distribution of temperature and salinity
on GB and flow field across the Northeast Channel is a prerequisite
for modeling the spring bloom over GB.
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