Coastal thin layer dynamics: Consequences to biology and optics

Sullivan, James; Donaghay, Percy L.; Rines, Jan

doi:10.1016/j.csr.2009.07.009

Cited by 106 publications

(103 citation statements)

References 63 publications

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“…Additionally, there is increasing evidence that biological behaviour combined with turbulent shear can lead to the formation of small-scale features of a metre or less in both phytoplankton and zooplankton communities (McManus et al, 2008;Cheriton et al, 2009;Moline et al, 2009), but these so-called "thin layers" can also be produced by shear alone (Franks, 1995;Birch et al, 2008). The biomass associated with these layers can represent the major feature present in the water column (Sullivan et al, 2009). While presence of these thin layers has only been documented in the last decade, current and future efforts are focused on mapping their quantitative significance in the ocean.…”

Section: Community Structure and Diversitymentioning

confidence: 99%

The emergence of regularity and variability in marine ecosystems: the combined role of physics, chemistry and biology

Ballantyne¹,

Schofield²,

Levin³

2011

Sci. Mar.

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SUMMARY: Marine ecosystems play an integral role in the functioning of life on earth. To predict how they will respond to global changes, and to effectively manage and maintain services upon which humans rely, we must understand how biological processes at the cellular level generate macroscopic patterns in the oceans. Here, we discuss how physics and biogeochemistry influence and constrain marine ecosystem structure and function, and outline key regularities and patterns of variability that models should aim to reproduce. We identify unanswered questions regarding how size-dependent physiological and ecological processes are linked to turbulent mixing, dealing specifically with how size structure is related to mixing over a range of spatial scales and how it is linked to the fate of primary production in the sea.Keywords: variability, turbulence, scaling, abundance, trophic interactions, modelling. RESUMEN: La aparición de regularidades y variabilidad en ecosistemas marinos: el papel combinado de la física, la química y la biología. -Los ecosistemas marinos juegan un papel integral en el funcionamiento de la vida sobre la Tierra. Para predecir cómo van a responder a cambios globales y para mantener los servicios de los cuales los humanos dependemos, tenemos que comprender cómo los procesos biológicos a nivel celular generan patrones macroscópicos en el océano. Examinamos cómo la física y la biogeoquímica afectan y limitan la estructura y función de los ecosistemas marinos, y exponemos importantes regularidades y patrones de variabilidad que los modelos deberían reproducir. Identificamos aspectos sin resolver sobre la relación entre procesos fisiológicos y ecológicos y la mezcla turbulenta. En concreto, cómo la estructura de tamaños está relacionada con la mezcla en un rango de escalas espaciales y cómo está conectada con el destino de la producción primaria en el mar.

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Section: Community Structure and Diversitymentioning

confidence: 99%

The emergence of regularity and variability in marine ecosystems: the combined role of physics, chemistry and biology

Ballantyne¹,

Schofield²,

Levin³

2011

Sci. Mar.

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“…Note that the skewed profiles of chlorophyll with a sharp SCM were not considered in this study. The small-scale (1 m or less) vertical heterogeneity in chlorophyll distribution has been shown to be common features in coastal waters (Sullivan et al, 2010;Prairie et al, 2011;Durham and Stocker, 2012), referred to as a thin layer.…”

Section: Limitation and Applicationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Analytical solution of the nitracline with the evolution of subsurface chlorophyll maximum in stratified water columns

et al. 2017

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Abstract. In a stratified water column, the nitracline is a layer where the nitrate concentration increases below the nutrient-depleted upper layer, exhibiting a strong vertical gradient in the euphotic zone. The subsurface chlorophyll maximum layer (SCML) forms near the bottom of the euphotic zone, acting as a trap to diminish the upward nutrient supply. Depth and steepness of the nitracline are important measurable parameters related to the vertical transport of nitrate into the euphotic zone. The correlation between the SCML and the nitracline has been widely reported in the literature, but the analytic solution for the relationship between them is not well established. By incorporating a piecewise function for the approximate Gaussian vertical profile of chlorophyll, we derive analytical solutions of a specified nutrient-phytoplankton model. The model is well suited to explain basic dependencies between a nitracline and an SCML. The analytical solution shows that the nitracline depth is deeper than the depth of the SCML, shoaling with an increase in the light attenuation coefficient and with a decrease in surface light intensity. The inverse proportional relationship between the light level at the nitracline depth and the maximum rate of new primary production is derived. Analytic solutions also show that a thinner SCML corresponds to a steeper nitracline. The nitracline steepness is positively related to the light attenuation coefficient but independent of surface light intensity. The derived equations of the nitracline in relation to the SCML provide further insight into the important role of the nitracline in marine pelagic ecosystems.

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“…These abiotic and biotic processes lead to high concentrations of bacteria, phytoplankton, zooplankton and/or marine snow (Alldredge et al 2002, McManus et al 2003) that can exceed the concentration of the surrounding environment by orders of magnitude. Hence, these layers may be regions of enhanced biological productivity and interactions (Sullivan et al 2010a) and have been detected in a variety of marine systems including estuaries (Bochdansky & Bollens 2009), coastal shelves (McManus et al 2005) and the open ocean (Cowles et al 1998). Conceivably thin layers may have an extensive impact on marine ecosystem dynamics, and the magnitude of their importance is just now beginning to be quantified (Alldredge et al 2002, Durham & Stocker 2012, Lyons & Dobbs 2012.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Marine snow, zooplankton and thin layers: indications of a trophic link from small-scale sampling with the Video Plankton Recorder

Moeller

John²,

Temming

et al. 2012

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

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Marine aggregates of biogenic origin, known as marine snow, are considered to play a major role in the ocean's particle flux and may represent a concentrated food source for zooplankton. However, observing the marine snow−zooplankton interaction in the field is difficult since conventional net sampling does not collect marine snow quantitatively and cannot resolve so-called thin layers in which this interaction occurs. Hence, field evidence for the importance of the marine snow−zooplankton link is scarce. Here we employed a Video Plankton Recorder (VPR) to quantify small-scale (metres) vertical distribution patterns of fragile marine snow aggregates and zooplankton in the Baltic Sea during late spring 2002. By using this non-invasive optical sampling technique we recorded a peak in copepod abundance (ca. 18 ind. l −1 ) associated with a pronounced thin layer (50 to 55 m) of marine snow (maximum abundance of 28 particles l −1 ), a feature rarely resolved. We provide indirect evidence of copepods feeding on marine snow by computing a spatial overlap index that indicated a strong positively correlated distribution pattern within the thin layer. Furthermore we recorded images of copepods attached to aggregates and demonstrating feeding behaviour, which also suggests a trophic interaction. Our observations highlight the potential significance of marine snow in marine ecosystems and its potential as a food resource for various trophic levels, from bacteria up to fish.

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Coastal thin layer dynamics: Consequences to biology and optics

Cited by 106 publications

References 63 publications

The emergence of regularity and variability in marine ecosystems: the combined role of physics, chemistry and biology

The emergence of regularity and variability in marine ecosystems: the combined role of physics, chemistry and biology

Analytical solution of the nitracline with the evolution of subsurface chlorophyll maximum in stratified water columns

Marine snow, zooplankton and thin layers: indications of a trophic link from small-scale sampling with the Video Plankton Recorder

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