Do Loop Current eddies stimulate productivity in the Gulf of Mexico?

Damien, Pierre; Sheinbaum, Julio; Pasqueron de Fommervault, Orens; Jouanno, Julien; Linacre, Lorena; Duteil, Olaf

doi:https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-4281-2021

Articles | Volume 18, issue 14

Biogeosciences, 18, 4281–4303, 2021

https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-4281-2021

© Author(s) 2021. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Biogeosciences, 18, 4281–4303, 2021

https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-4281-2021

© Author(s) 2021. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Articles | Volume 18, issue 14

Research article 22 Jul 2021

Research article | 22 Jul 2021

Do Loop Current eddies stimulate productivity in the Gulf of Mexico?

Pierre Damien et al.

Supplement

https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-4281-2021-supplement

Model code and software

NEMO ocean engine G. Madec, R. Bourdallé-Badie, J. Chanut, E. Clementi, A. Coward, C. Ethé, C. Iovino, D. Lea, C. Lévy, T. Lovato, N. Martin, S. Masson, S. Mocavero, C. Rousset, D. Storkey, M. Vancoppenolle, S. Müeller, G. Nurser, M. Bell, and G. Samson https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.1464816

PISCES-v2: an ocean biogeochemical model for carbon andecosystem studies O. Aumont, C. Ethé, A. Tagliabue, L. Bopp, and M. Gehlen https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-8-2465-2015

Short summary

The Gulf of Mexico deep waters are relatively poor in phytoplankton biomass due to low levels of nutrients in the upper layers. Using modeling techniques, we find that the long-living anticyclonic Loop Current eddies that are shed episodically from the Yucatan Channel strongly shape the distribution of phytoplankton and, more importantly, stimulate their growth. This results from the contribution of multiple mechanisms of physical–biogeochemical interactions discussed in this study.