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Eddies Affect Subsurface Phytoplankton and Oxygen Distributions in the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre
Author(s) -
Xiu Peng,
Chai Fei
Publication year - 2020
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 - 10.1029/2020gl087037
Subject(s) - argo , ocean gyre , eddy , oceanography , subtropics , mesoscale meteorology , anticyclone , oxygen minimum zone , environmental science , geology , mixed layer , biogeochemical cycle , climatology , phytoplankton , atmospheric sciences , upwelling , meteorology , turbulence , geography , chemistry , environmental chemistry , fishery , nutrient , biology , organic chemistry
The North Pacific Subtropical Gyre (NPSG) is an oligotrophic environment where a number of mesoscale eddies occur. With continuous measurements from Biogeochemical‐Argo (BGC‐Argo) floats, we showed that mesoscale eddies can significantly affect the subsurface chlorophyll maximum (SCM) and subsurface biogenic particles. Different responses of the SCM to the cyclonic and anticyclonic eddies and those between the eddy core and edge region were revealed by combining the results from tracked eddies. The variations in the SCM and subsurface particles were further shown to be statistically linked with changes in the dissolved oxygen in the upper oxygen minimum layer. Such an eddy‐induced oxygen change in the central gyre is unresolved in global‐scale coupled models but can contribute to the oxygen variability in oligotrophic environments.