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Oceanic and atmospheric influences on the variability of phytoplankton bloom in the southwestern Indian Ocean

DRS at CSIR-National Institute of Oceanography

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Title Oceanic and atmospheric influences on the variability of phytoplankton bloom in the southwestern Indian Ocean
 
Creator Raj, R.P.
Peter, B.N.
Pushpadas, D.
 
Subject Phytoplankton bloom
Upwelling
Mesoscale eddies
Atmospheric influencesatmospheric influences
 
Description The phytoplankton bloom developed in the southwestern Indian Ocean during austral summer is unique in its occurrence. Interannual and intraannual variability of this large phytoplankton bloom were studied using satellite derived, model and reanalysis data together with hydrographic observations. The study shows that the bloom is not confined to Madagascar basin alone, but also developed in the Mozambique Basin as well as in the southern Mozambique Channel. The strongest bloom event in the Madagascar and Mozambique basin since twelve years (1997-2008) occurred during January 2008. Intraannual variability of the phytoplankton bloom is linked to the upwelling along the south coast of Madagascar, precipitation along the east coast of Madagascar, light limitation and local mesoscale circulation features. Distribution pattern of the mesoscale eddies is found to play an important role in inducing the interannual variability of the bloom. The study reveals the dominance of the mesoscale eddies during the bloom events and the distinct association of chlorophyll maxima with either anti-cyclonic or cyclonic eddies. Flow pattern of the East Madagascar Current also shows interannual variability, which constrains the distribution of the bloom in different basins. ENSO is likely to have a direct and remote impact in inducing the interannual variability of the bloom
 
Date 2010-08-10T09:10:47Z
2010-08-10T09:10:47Z
2010
 
Type Journal Article
 
Identifier Journal of Marine Systems, vol.82(4); 217-229
no
http://drs.nio.org/drs/handle/2264/3694
 
Language en
 
Relation J_Mar_Syst_82_217.jpg
 
Rights An edited version of this paper was published by Elsevier. Copyright [2010] Elsevier
 
Publisher Elsevier