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Antarctic circumpolar wave impact on marine biology: A natural laboratory for climate change study
Author(s) -
Le Quéré Corinne,
Bopp Laurent,
Tegen Ina
Publication year - 2002
Publication title -
geophysical research letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.007
H-Index - 273
eISSN - 1944-8007
pISSN - 0094-8276
DOI - 10.1029/2001gl014585
Subject(s) - seawifs , circumpolar star , oceanography , ocean heat content , stratification (seeds) , environmental science , sea surface temperature , ocean gyre , climate change , circumpolar deep water , satellite , climatology , geology , phytoplankton , nutrient , thermohaline circulation , ecology , biology , subtropics , seed dormancy , botany , germination , aerospace engineering , dormancy , engineering , north atlantic deep water
We use the observed variations in ocean surface chlorophyll, temperature and height caused by the Antarctic Circumpolar Wave (ACW) as a natural laboratory to determine how marine biology responds to changes in ocean stratification in the Southern Ocean. Interannual variations of surface chlorophyll (±5%) observed by SeaWiFS satellite during 1997–2001 vary in phase over the entire Southern Ocean in spite of large east‐west dipoles in ocean dynamics. We suggest that this behavior is due to the regional predominance of light versus nutrient limitation over the most productive regions of the Southern Ocean.