Physical controls on the seasonal migration of the North Pacific transition zone chlorophyll front
Abstract
The large seasonal migration of the transition zone chlorophyll front (TZCF) is of
interest because a number of marine fauna, both commercial and endangered, appear
to track it. Herein we examine the physical dynamics driving this seasonal migration
of the TZCF. Vertical processes, traditionally viewed as controlling the dynamical
supply of nutrients to surface waters, prove insufficient to explain seasonal variations
in nutrient supply to the transition zone. Instead, we find that the horizontal Ekman
transport of nutrients from higher latitudes drives the TZCF's southward migration.
The estimated horizontal transport of nitrate supports up to 40% of new primary productivity
in the region annually and nearly all of new primary productivity in the winter. The
significance of horizontal advection to the North Pacific transition zone supports
revising the paradigm that nutrients are supplied to surface waters from below. ©
2010 by the American Geophysical Union.
Type
Journal articlePermalink
https://hdl.handle.net/10161/4516Published Version (Please cite this version)
10.1029/2009JC005596Publication Info
Ayers, JM; & Lozier, MS (2010). Physical controls on the seasonal migration of the North Pacific transition zone chlorophyll
front. Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans, 115(5). pp. C05001. 10.1029/2009JC005596. Retrieved from https://hdl.handle.net/10161/4516.This is constructed from limited available data and may be imprecise. To cite this
article, please review & use the official citation provided by the journal.
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M. Susan Lozier
Ronie-Richele Garcia-Johnson Emerita Professor of Earth and Ocean Sciences
Susan Lozier is a physical oceanographer with interests in large-scale ocean circulation.
Upon completion of her PhD at the University of Washington, she was a postdoctoral
scholar at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. She has been a member of the Duke
faculty since 1992. Professor Lozier was the recipient of an NSF Early Career Award
in 1996, was awarded a Bass Chair for Excellence in Research and Teaching in 2000,
received a Duke University Award for Excellence in Mentoring in 2007, was nam

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