Pulses in the eastern margin current and warmer water off the north west European shelf linked to North Sea ecosystem changes
Reid, Ph.C.; Holliday, N.P.; Smyth, T.J. (2001). Pulses in the eastern margin current and warmer water off the north west European shelf linked to North Sea ecosystem changes. Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 215: 283-287
In: Marine Ecology Progress Series. Inter-Research: Oldendorf/Luhe. ISSN 0171-8630; e-ISSN 1616-1599, more
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| Authors | | Top |
- Reid, Ph.C., more
- Holliday, N.P.
- Smyth, T.J.
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| Abstract |
The North Sea ecosystem has recently undergone dramatic changes, observed as altered biomass of individual species spanning a range of life forms from algae to birds, with evidence for an approximate doubling in the abundance of both phytoplankton and benthos as part of a regime shift after 1987. Remarkably, these changes, in part recorded in the Phytoplankton Colour Index of the Continuous Plankton Recorder (CPR) survey, are notable as episodic shifts occurring in 1988/89 and 1998 imposed on a gradual decadal trend. These biological events are shown to be a response to coincident changes in oceanic input and water temperature. Geostrophic transports have been calculated from a hydrographic section across the Rockall Trough, and a time series of sea-surface temperature derived from satellite observations. The 2 pulses of oceanic incursion into the North Sea in circa 1988 and 1998 coincided with strong northward advection of anomalously warm water at the edge of the continental shelf. |
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