The onset of the spring phytoplankton bloom in the coastal  North Sea supports the Disturbance Recovery Hypothesis

González-Gil, Ricardo; Banas, Neil S.; Bresnan, Eileen; Heath, Michael R.

doi:https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-2417-2022

Articles | Volume 19, issue 9

https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-2417-2022

© Author(s) 2022. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-2417-2022

© Author(s) 2022. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Articles | Volume 19, issue 9

Research article

| Highlight paper

|

10 May 2022

Research article | Highlight paper |

| 10 May 2022

The onset of the spring phytoplankton bloom in the coastal North Sea supports the Disturbance Recovery Hypothesis

Ricardo González-Gil, Neil S. Banas, Eileen Bresnan, and Michael R. Heath

Supplement

https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-2417-2022-supplement

Data sets

Scottish Coastal Observatory – Stonehaven site data Marine Scotland Science https://doi.org/10.7489/610-1

The Scottish Coastal Observatory 1997-2013. Part 2 – Description of Scotland's Coastal Waters E. Bresnan, K. Cook, J. Hindson, S. Hughes, J.-P. Lacaze, P. Walsham, L. Webster, and W. R. Turrell https://doi.org/10.7489/1881-1

Video abstract

The onset of the spring phytoplankton bloom in the coastal North Sea supports the Disturbance Recovery Hypothesis Ricardo González-Gil, Neil S. Banas, Eileen Bresnan, and Michael R. Heath https://doi.org/10.5446/56983

Download

Article (2522 KB)
Full-text XML

Short summary

In oceanic waters, the accumulation of phytoplankton biomass in winter, when light still limits growth, is attributed to a decrease in grazing as the mixed layer deepens. However, in coastal areas, it is not clear whether winter biomass can accumulate without this deepening. Using 21 years of weekly data, we found that in the Scottish coastal North Sea, the seasonal increase in light availability triggers the accumulation of phytoplankton biomass in winter, when light limitation is strongest.