Articles | Volume 17, issue 2
https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-529-2020
https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-529-2020
Research article
 | 
31 Jan 2020
Research article |  | 31 Jan 2020

Physical drivers of the nitrate seasonal variability in the Atlantic cold tongue

Marie-Hélène Radenac, Julien Jouanno, Christine Carine Tchamabi, Mesmin Awo, Bernard Bourlès, Sabine Arnault, and Olivier Aumont

Data sets

French PIRATA cruises: Chemical analysis data B. Bourlès, F. Baurand, S. Hillion, P. Rousselot, J. Grelet, C. Bachelier, F. Roubaud, Y. Gouriou, and R. Chuchla https://doi.org/10.17882/58141

French PIRATA cruises: S-ADCP data B. Bourlès, G. Herbert, P. Rousselot, and J. Grelet https://doi.org/10.17882/44635

French PIRATA cruises: Mooring ADCP data B. Bourlès, J. Habasque, P. Rousselot, J. Grelet, F. Roubaud, C. Bachelier, and Y. Gouriou https://doi.org/10.17882/51557

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Short summary
Satellite data and a remarkable set of in situ measurements show a main bloom of microscopic seaweed, the phytoplankton, in summer and a secondary bloom in December in the central equatorial Atlantic. They are driven by a strong vertical supply of nitrate in May–July and a shorter and moderate supply in November. In between, transport of low-nitrate water from the west explains most nitrate losses in the sunlit layer. Horizontal eddy-induced processes also contribute to seasonal nitrate removal.
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