Climate-driven basin-scale decadal oscillations of oceanic phytoplankton.
Phytoplankton--the microalgae that populate the upper lit layers of the ocean--fuel the oceanic food web and affect oceanic and atmospheric carbon dioxide levels through photosynthetic carbon fixation. Here, we show that multidecadal changes in global phytoplankton abundances are related to basin-scale oscillations of the physical ocean, specifically the Pacific Decadal Oscillation and the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation. This relationship is revealed in approximately 20 years of satellite observations of chlorophyll and sea surface temperature. Interaction between the main pycnocline and the upper ocean seasonal mixed layer is one mechanism behind this correlation. Our findings provide a context for the interpretation of contemporary changes in global phytoplankton and should improve predictions of their future evolution with climate change.
Martinez
Elodie
E
UPMC University of Paris 06, UMR 7093, Laboratoire d'Océanographie de Villefranche (LOV), 06230 Villefranche-sur-Mer, France. martinez@obs-vlfr.fr
Antoine
David
D
D'Ortenzio
Fabrizio
F
Gentili
Bernard
B
D001267:Atlantic Ocean; D018533:Biomass; D002734:Chlorophyll / Q000032:analysis*; D002980:Climate; D017753:Ecosystem; D057232:Global Warming; D019156:Indian Ocean; D009792:Oceans and Seas; D010140:Pacific Ocean; D010839:Phytoplankton / Q000502:physiology*; D011157:Population Dynamics; D012621:Seasons; D012623:Seawater / Q000737:chemistry; D013696:Temperature; D013997:Time Factors
D002734:Chlorophyll