TY - JOUR
T1 - Intrusion of coastal waters into the pelagic eastern Mediterranean
T2 - In situ and satellite-based characterization
AU - Efrati, S.
AU - Lehahn, Y.
AU - Rahav, E.
AU - Kress, N.
AU - Herut, B.
AU - Gertman, I.
AU - Goldman, R.
AU - Ozer, T.
AU - Lazar, M.
AU - Heifetz, E.
N1 - Israeli Ministry of Science and Technology [MOST 3-6490]; International Meteorological Institute (IMI) of SwedenThis research was funded by the Israeli Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST 3-6490). The authors acknowledge NASA access to MODIS-Aqua data. The altimeter products were produced by Ssalto/Duacs and distributed by Aviso with support from the Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales. We are grateful to the crew of the R/V Shikmona and the research assistants of the Marine Chemistry Department at IOLR for their help at sea and in the laboratory. Eyal Heifetz is grateful for the Rossby Visiting Fellowship of the International Meteorological Institute (IMI) of Sweden. All figures in this paper received their final touch by using Inkscape, an open source vector graphics editor.
PY - 2013/8/2
Y1 - 2013/8/2
N2 - A combined dataset of near-real-time multi-satellite observations and in situ measurements from a high-resolution survey is used for characterizing physical-biogeochemical properties of a patch stretching from the coast to the open sea in the Levantine Basin (LB) of the eastern Mediterranean (EM). Spatial analysis of the combined dataset indicates that the patch is a semi-enclosed system, bounded within the mixed layer and separated from ambient waters by transport barriers induced by horizontal stirring. As such, the patch is characterized by physical-biogeochemical properties that significantly differ from those of the waters surrounding it, with lower salinity and higher temperatures, concentrations of silicic acid and chlorophyll a, and abundance of Synechococcus and picoeukaryote cells. Based on estimates of patch dimensions (~40 km width and ~25 m depth) and propagation speed (~0.09 m s-1), the volume flux associated with the patch is found to be on the order of 0.1 Sv. Our observations suggest that horizontal stirring by surface currents is likely to have an important impact on the ultra-oligotrophic Levantine Basin ecosystem, through (1) transport of nutrients and coastally derived material, and (2) formation of local, dynamically isolated niches. In addition, this work provides a satellite-based framework for planning and executing high-resolution sampling strategies in the interface between the coast and the open sea.
AB - A combined dataset of near-real-time multi-satellite observations and in situ measurements from a high-resolution survey is used for characterizing physical-biogeochemical properties of a patch stretching from the coast to the open sea in the Levantine Basin (LB) of the eastern Mediterranean (EM). Spatial analysis of the combined dataset indicates that the patch is a semi-enclosed system, bounded within the mixed layer and separated from ambient waters by transport barriers induced by horizontal stirring. As such, the patch is characterized by physical-biogeochemical properties that significantly differ from those of the waters surrounding it, with lower salinity and higher temperatures, concentrations of silicic acid and chlorophyll a, and abundance of Synechococcus and picoeukaryote cells. Based on estimates of patch dimensions (~40 km width and ~25 m depth) and propagation speed (~0.09 m s-1), the volume flux associated with the patch is found to be on the order of 0.1 Sv. Our observations suggest that horizontal stirring by surface currents is likely to have an important impact on the ultra-oligotrophic Levantine Basin ecosystem, through (1) transport of nutrients and coastally derived material, and (2) formation of local, dynamically isolated niches. In addition, this work provides a satellite-based framework for planning and executing high-resolution sampling strategies in the interface between the coast and the open sea.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84880797278&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.5194/bg-10-3349-2013
DO - 10.5194/bg-10-3349-2013
M3 - مقالة
SN - 1726-4170
VL - 10
SP - 3349
EP - 3357
JO - Biogeosciences
JF - Biogeosciences
IS - 5
ER -
