Articles | Volume 18, issue 14
https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-4281-2021
© Author(s) 2021. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-4281-2021
© Author(s) 2021. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| 
22 Jul 2021
Research article |
| 22 Jul 2021
| 22 Jul 2021
Do Loop Current eddies stimulate productivity in the Gulf of Mexico?
Pierre Damien
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
Departamento de Oceanografía Física, Centro de
Investigación Científica y de Educación Superior de Ensenada, Ensenada,
México
Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic
Sciences, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
Julio Sheinbaum
Departamento de Oceanografía Física, Centro de
Investigación Científica y de Educación Superior de Ensenada, Ensenada,
México
Orens Pasqueron de Fommervault
Departamento de Oceanografía Física, Centro de
Investigación Científica y de Educación Superior de Ensenada, Ensenada,
México
Julien Jouanno
LEGOS, Université de Toulouse, IRD, CNRS, CNES, UPS, Toulouse,
France
Lorena Linacre
Departamento de Oceanografía Biológica, Centro de
Investigación Científica y de Educación Superior de Ensenada,
México
Olaf Duteil
GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research, Kiel, Germany
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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.
The Gulf of Mexico deep waters are relatively poor in phytoplankton biomass due to low levels of...
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