On the dynamics of shallow water currents in Massachusetts Bay and on the New England continental shelf

Butman, Bradford

doi:10.1575/1912/1255

Cited by 11 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 38 publications

(35 reference statements)

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“…These inputs establish the gradients necessary to drive the large-:;cale circulation. Superimposed on this southwestward flow are episodic pulses' of freshwater from the rivers entering the gulf, producing plumes that extend southwestward along the coast and sometimes into Massachusetts Bay (Butman 1975;Franks and Anderson 1992a;Geyer et al 1992.). Freshwater input, Coriolis acceleration, wind stress, and advcction by the ambient coastal flow are all important factors influencing the structure and advection speed of the plumes.…”

Section: Gulf Of Maine Circulationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…North Passage The dominant circulation regime in the bay is a counterclockwise flow that enters via North Passage, travels south through most of Massachusetts Bay, and exits through South Passage, heading offshore toward Georges Bank (Geyer et al 1992). Superimposed on this mesoscale pattern are episodic intrusions of low salinity water from the western Maine coastal current which can enter the bay through North Passage (Butman 1975;Franks and Anderson 1992a). The entrance to North Passage represents a fork or bifurcation point.…”

Section: Regional Subpopulationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Logistical constraints have made it difficult to adequately document the fate of the buoyant plume and its associated toxic dinoflagellate population at the entrance and exit to Massachusetts Bay, but previous workers (Bigelow 1927;Butman 1975;Bumpus 1976) and more recent studies (Chen et al 1992) have documented a circulation pattern of surface water movement past Cape Ann, Cape Cod, and farther offshore to Georges Bank. Lagrangian pathways are thus documented linking nearshore riverine outflow to the distant, offshore waters of Georges Bank.…”

Section: Regional Subpopulationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Bloom dynamics of toxic Alexandrium species in the northeastern U.S

Anderson

1997

Limnology & Oceanography

321

158

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Coastal waters of the northeastern U.S. are subject to rccurrcnt outbreaks of paralytic shclllish poisoning (PSP) caused by toxic dinoflagellates in the genus Alexandrium. PSP is not uniform across the large region, but instead reflects Alexandrium growth and toxin accumulation in five separate habitats or zones defined by circulation patterns and the discontinuous distribution of the dinollagellatcs. Each of these habitats has a unique set of environmental and oceanographic forcings that dcterminc the timing and extent of bloom development and transport and that regulate the extent of genetic cxchangc with adjacent populations. Several habitats (e.g. the southwcstcrn Gulf of Maine, Massachusetts Bay, and Georges Bank) arc linked hydrographically and may share the same Alexandrium population via large-scale transport in a coastal current, whereas the other two habitats (eastern Maine and southern salt ponds-embaymcnts) seem to be isolated and have little or no hydrographic or genetic linkage to adjacent regions during bloom seasons. My paper provides an overview of the regional ecology and oceanography of Alenandrium through a focus on these hvc subpopulations. Issues that relate to PSP and AZenandrium dynamics throughout the world are highlighted, including species dispersal, the role of cysts and "initiation zones" in bloom dcvclopment, and the influence of large-and small-scale hydrography on population development and transport. The ability of Alexandrium to colonize multiple habitats and to persist over a large region is emphasized in recognition of the adaptability and resilience of this important organism.In many parts of the world, paralytic shellfish poisoning (PSP) is a recurrent and serious problem associated with blooms of toxic dinoflagellates in the genus Akxandrium. The potent neurotoxins produced by these organisms are accumulated by filter-Feeding shellfish and other grazers and are passed on to humans and other animals at higher trophic levels, leading to illness, incapacitation, and even death. AZexandrium causes toxicity in many different hydrographic and climatic regimes, from temperate to tropical (e.g. Cembella et al. 1988; La Barbera-Sanchez et al. 1993). This ecological distribution reflects a genetic diversity that is far more extensive than simple morphology might imply. Scholin et al. (1994Scholin et al. ( , 1995 clearly demonstrated that even though a single morphospecies such as Alexandrium tamarense can be found in widely different geographic zones, isolates from those different regions have unique genotypes based on ribosomal RNA sequences. AcknowledgmentsSpecial thanks to D. M. Kulis and B. A. Keafer for many years of field and laboratory assistance underlying much of the work prcscnted here. Thanks also to J. Hurst and D. Whitakcr for providing shellfish toxicity data.

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Section: Gulf Of Maine Circulationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Regional Subpopulationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Regional Subpopulationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Bloom dynamics of toxic Alexandrium species in the northeastern U.S

Anderson

1997

Limnology & Oceanography

321

158

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“…Circulation tends to be counterclockwise (Bigelow 1927;Brooks 1985), with southwestward flow along the coast of Maine toward Massachusetts Bay driven by freshwater inflows from the Scotian Shelf overlying salty slope water input through the Northeast Channel and filling Jordan Basin. This region is also influenced by several rivers emptying into the western GOM that overlie the general circulation and extend southwestward along the coast and sometimes into Massachusetts Bay (Butman 1975;Franks and Anderson 1992a;Geyer et al 1992).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Toxic Alexandrium blooms in the western Gulf of Maine: The plume advection hypothesis revisited

et al. 2005

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The plume advection hypothesis links blooms of the toxic dinoflagellate Alexandrium fundyense in the western Gulf of Maine (GOM) to a buoyant plume derived from river outflows. This hypothesis was examined with cruise and moored-instrument observations in 1993 when levels of paralytic shellfish poisoning (PSP) toxins were high, and in 1994 when toxicity was low. A coupled physical-biological model simulated hydrography and A. fundyense distributions. Initial A. fundyense populations were restricted to low-salinity nearshore waters near Casco Bay, but also occurred in higher salinity waters along the plume boundary. This suggests two sources of cells-those from shallow-water cyst populations and those transported to shore from offshore blooms in the eastern segment of the Maine coastal current (EMCC). Observations confirm the role of the plume in A. fundyense transport and growth. Downwelling-favorable winds in 1993 transported the plume and its cells rapidly alongshore, enhancing toxicity and propagating PSP to the south. In 1994, sustained upwelling moved the plume offshore, resulting in low toxicity in intertidal shellfish. A. fundyense blooms were likely nutrient limited, leading to low growth rates and moderate cell abundances. These observations and mechanisms were reproduced by coupled physical-biological model simulations. The plume advection hypothesis provides a viable explanation for outbreaks of PSP in the western GOM, but should be refined to include two sources for cells that populate the plume and two major pathways for transport: one within the low-salinity plume and another where A. fundyense cells originating in the EMCC are transported along the outer boundary of the plume front with the western segment of the Maine coastal current.Toxic dinoflagellate blooms are a serious economic and

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“…The phases become the tilt of the imijor axs from North, with positive angle being clockwse rotation. The Greenwich phase remains a Greenwich phase, but is now the phase of the maxmum velocity of the major axs in the upper sector (tilts between -90 and +90 degrees) following the convention of Butman (1975) and Moody et aL. (1984).…”

Section: Winter Least Squares Analysis For the Barotropic Tidal Currentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Tides of Massachusetts and Cape Cod Bays

Irish¹,

Signell²

1992

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On the dynamics of shallow water currents in Massachusetts Bay and on the New England continental shelf

Cited by 11 publications

References 38 publications

Bloom dynamics of toxic Alexandrium species in the northeastern U.S

Bloom dynamics of toxic Alexandrium species in the northeastern U.S

Toxic Alexandrium blooms in the western Gulf of Maine: The plume advection hypothesis revisited

Tides of Massachusetts and Cape Cod Bays

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