Mesoscale variability in a high-resolution grid in the Cantabrian Sea (southern Bay of Biscay), May 1995
Gil, J.; Valdés, L.; Moral, M.; Sánchez, R.; Garcia-Soto, C. (2002). Mesoscale variability in a high-resolution grid in the Cantabrian Sea (southern Bay of Biscay), May 1995. Deep-Sea Res., Part 1, Oceanogr. Res. Pap. 49(9): 1591-1607
In: Deep-Sea Research, Part I. Oceanographic Research Papers. Elsevier: Oxford. ISSN 0967-0637; e-ISSN 1879-0119
The physical mesoscale structure of the eastern Cantabrian Sea (Bay of Biscay, NE Atlantic) under pre-summer conditions (May 1995) was resolved with a quasi-synoptic (5 days) high-resolution grid (5 n mile between stations). The water mass distribution, the mesoscale dynamic pattern and the associated geostrophic velocities in the sampling region were analysed by an objective analysis method. A close relationship was observed between nutrient/phytoplankton/zooplankton distributions and the frontal regions separating three different water masses: (i) coastal upwelling waters, (ii) an intermediate area of warm low salinity water with its source on the French shelf, and (iii) offshore oceanic waters. The presence of anticyclonic nuclei in the intermediate region may also be a key factor in determining higher concentrations of both phytoplankton and zooplankton. This study is put forward as an empirical physical model to understand the nutrient and zooplankton spatial dynamics of the Cantabrian Sea in spring and early summer.
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