Open AccessPrimary productivity in the equatorial Pacific during the 1997–1998 El Niño
Author(s) -
Strutton Peter G.,
Chavez Francisco P.
Publication year - 2000
Publication title -
journal of geophysical research: oceans
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.67
H-Index - 298
eISSN - 2156-2202
pISSN - 0148-0227
DOI - 10.1029/1999jc000056
Subject(s) - phytoplankton , photic zone , upwelling , oceanography , productivity , primary productivity , environmental science , nitrate , chlorophyll a , biomass (ecology) , nutrient , new production , atmospheric sciences , geology , biology , ecology , botany , macroeconomics , economics
Shipboard biological and physical measurements made during 1996, 1997, and 1998 in the equatorial Pacific are used to quantify the effect of the 1997–1998 El Niño on the phytoplankton community. This El Niño was by some measures the strongest ever observed and resulted in extremely low phytoplankton biomass and productivity throughout this normally moderately productive region. At the height of the event in late 1997 to early 1998, in the central Pacific, nitrate was absent throughout the entire euphotic zone (∼100 m), resulting in chlorophyll concentrations (0.05 μgL −1 ) that were among the lowest ever observed in the region and rates of primary production (∼0.41 g C m −2 d −1 ) that were approximately half the climatological mean. These conditions persisted until May 1998 when the trade winds resumed and upwelling, with its associated supply of nutrients, was restored along the equatorial Pacific. The phytoplankton community quickly recovered, and by June 1998, nitrate, chlorophyll, and primary productivity levels were comparable to, or in excess of, their respective climatological means.