TY - JOUR
T1 - Wind-Driven Strain Extends Seasonal Stratification
AU - Ruiz-Castillo, Eugenio
AU - Sharples, Jonathan
AU - Hopkins, Jo
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
©2019. American Geophysical Union. All Rights Reserved.
PY - 2019/11/28
Y1 - 2019/11/28
N2 - The onset and breakdown of stratification are key physical drivers of phytoplankton growth in shelf seas and the open ocean. We show how in the Celtic Sea, where seasonality in stratification is generally viewed as controlled by heat input, a cross-shelf salinity gradient horizontally strained by the wind prolonged the stratified period by 5–6 days in autumn prior to full winter mixing, while in spring caused seasonal stratification to begin 7 days early. Salinity straining has important implications for setting light conditions during the start of the spring bloom and for the timing of bottom-water ventilation in winter. Analysis of winds around the time of likely onset of spring stratification between 1979 and 2016 showed that in 60% of the years' wind conditions were favorable for salinity straining. Accurate knowledge of the horizontal salinity field and wind stress are required to correctly determine the onset and breakdown of stratification.
AB - The onset and breakdown of stratification are key physical drivers of phytoplankton growth in shelf seas and the open ocean. We show how in the Celtic Sea, where seasonality in stratification is generally viewed as controlled by heat input, a cross-shelf salinity gradient horizontally strained by the wind prolonged the stratified period by 5–6 days in autumn prior to full winter mixing, while in spring caused seasonal stratification to begin 7 days early. Salinity straining has important implications for setting light conditions during the start of the spring bloom and for the timing of bottom-water ventilation in winter. Analysis of winds around the time of likely onset of spring stratification between 1979 and 2016 showed that in 60% of the years' wind conditions were favorable for salinity straining. Accurate knowledge of the horizontal salinity field and wind stress are required to correctly determine the onset and breakdown of stratification.
KW - Celtic Sea
KW - salinity strain
KW - shelf seas
KW - stratification
KW - wind-driven transport
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85076412816&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1029/2019GL084540
DO - 10.1029/2019GL084540
M3 - Artículo
AN - SCOPUS:85076412816
SN - 0094-8276
VL - 46
SP - 13244
EP - 13252
JO - Geophysical Research Letters
JF - Geophysical Research Letters
IS - 22
ER -