Document of bibliographic reference 121698

BibliographicReference record

Type

Bibliographic resource

Type of document

Journal article

BibLvlCode

AS

Title

Hydroclimatic modulation of diatom/Phaeocystis blooms in nutrient-enriched Belgian coastal waters (North Sea)

Abstract

Statistical analysis of 14 yr (1988-2001) of intensive phytoplankton monitoring at Station 330 in the central Belgian Coastal Zone (BCZ, Southern Bight of the North Sea) indicates that the long-term diatom biomass trend and the spring dominance of Phaeocystis colonies over diatoms are determined by the combined effect of the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) and freshwater and continental nitrate carried by the Scheldt. The strong correlation between diatoms and the NAO index is largely explained by the modulating effect of the latter on the water budget at the monitoring station. The relationship between Phaeocystis spring blooms and winter NAO (NAO_w) is indirect, better expressed by springtime Phaeocystis dominance over diatoms because of the higher response of the latter to the NAO. The spring Phaeocystis : diatom bloom ratio is negatively (or positively) linked to positive (or negative) NAO_w values. A complex cascade of events links large-scale NAO index variations with those local meteorological conditions (wind strength and direction, rainfall) that drive the hydrography and water budget of the BCZ. Local meteorological conditions in turn modulate the geographical spread of Scheldt nutrient loads in the coastal zone and ultimately regulate the magnitude of Phaeocystis spring blooms by determining winter nitrate enrichment. Hence, the absence of a linear relationship between Phaeocystis spring blooms and NAO_w is explained by the nonlinear response of river-based nitrate pulses to NAO due to local wind-driven hydrodynamical forcing.

WebOfScience code

https://www.webofscience.com/wos/woscc/full-record/WOS:000237748300017

Bibliographic citation

Breton, E.; Rousseau, V.; Parent, J.-Y.; Ozer, J.; Lancelot, C. (2006). Hydroclimatic modulation of diatom/Phaeocystis blooms in nutrient-enriched Belgian coastal waters (North Sea). Limnol. Oceanogr. 51(3): 1401-1409. dx.doi.org/10.4319/lo.2006.51.3.1401

Topic

Marine

Is peer reviewed

true