Record Details
Chlorophyll enchancement and mixing associated with meanders of the shelf break front in the Mid-Atlantic Bight
ScholarsArchive at Oregon State University
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Title | Chlorophyll enchancement and mixing associated with meanders of the shelf break front in the Mid-Atlantic Bight |
| Names |
Ryan, J. P.
(creator) Yoder, J. A. (creator) Barth, John A. (creator) Cornillon, P. C. (creator) |
| Date Issued | 1999 (iso8601) |
| Note | copyrighted by American Geophysical Union |
| Abstract | Meanders of the shelf break front in the Mid-Atlantic Bight (MAB) during April and May of 1997 were associated with chlorophyll enhancement along a hydrographic and a topographic feature. The hydrographic feature was the surface outcrop of the front, which ranged from ~10 to >100 km seaward of the shelf break owing to the meanders. The topographic feature was the shelf break (100-m isobath). Chlorophyll enhancement was observed by a satellite instrument, the ocean color and temperature sensor, and by a fluorometer in situ. It developed in near-surface waters typically nutrient depleted during late spring, thus local nutrient enrichment of near-surface waters was probable. Observations of sufficient resolution to define processes were available only for the region of shelf break chlorophyll enhancement . Along two meander troughs( shoreward extremities near the shelf break), we observed shoaling of cold shelf water. Shelf water shoaled >20 m along frontal-isopycnals, and phytoplankton absorption maxima coincided directly with the shoaled water. Thus local nutrient enrichment by along-isopycnal upwelling was the supported mechanism of chlorophyll enhancement at the shelf break. The basis for along-isopycnal upwelling was seaward flow of shelf water forced by meander circulation near the shelf break. Strong cross-isobath flow and mixing developed as these meanders propagated along the shelf break front of the MAB at a relatively constant rate of ~9 km day¯¹. |
| Genre | Article |
| Identifier | Ryan, J. P., Yoder, J. A., Barth, J. A., and Cornillon, P. C., 1999, Chlorophyll enhancement and mixing associated with meanders of the shelfbreak front in the Mid-Atlantic Bight: J. Geophys. Res., v. 104, p. 23,479-23, 493. |
