OBJECTIVES
The overall objective of the proposed research is to
understand the processes within the TMF that sustain the biological
productivity of Georges Bank, especially those that link N, P and Z production
and standing stocks to retention phenomena. Specifically, we want to understand how mixing and circulation
within the TMF supplies new nutrients, supports primary and secondary
production, retains larvae and physically modifies the small-scale feeding
environment. We will study the TMF as a
3-dimensional feature and assess how its size and the strength of the cyclonic
circulation set time and space scales compatible with the development of cod
and haddock larvae. Finally, we will
identify the elements of the TMF ecology that are sensitive to far-field
forcing and thus susceptible to climate-change effects.
To achieve these overall objectives requires a series of interconnected investigations with more specific objectives. First, we will test the ability of existing models to simulate the dye dispersion. This will be a critical test of their spatial resolution and mixing parameterization.
Second, we will seek to understand the kinematic and dynamical connection between mixing and circulation within the TMF, which is important to our understanding of nutrient uptake and larval feeding and retention processes.
We will quantify the flux of nutrients into the TMF, resolving its variation in time and space.
Then, we will test the hypothesis that the phytoplankton-zooplankton assemblage on the south flank shallower than the 70 m isobath is due primarily to the transport, retention and growth of these communities within the donut from the northeast peak.
Finally, we seek to understand the mechanisms, both physical and physiological, responsible for the retention of fish larvae on the southern flank, and examine the environmental changes experienced by larvae entrained therein.