Abstract
An algal bloom is defined as a relatively rapid increase in the biomass of phytoplankton in an aquatic system. During 30 March to 24 April 2007, a cruise was conducted in the central Southern Huanghai Sea to investigate the spring bloom processes. The spatial and temporal variations of phytoplankton are discussed based on the in-situ observations and simultaneous remote sensing data. The explosive algal blooming varied quickly in temporal and spatial scales, due to the highly patchy distribution. Data obtained at the 2 anchor stations (BM1 and BM2) were analyzed in the present study. Horizontal advection is speculated to be responsible for the abrupt decrease in the concentration of chlorophyll-a at stations BM1 and BM2. At station BM2, the intermediate high chlorophyll-a concentration, coinciding with the low temperature, was found to be advected from the inshore colder water mass located to the east of the site.
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Foundation item: The Major State Program of China for Basic Research under contract No. 2006CB400602; the Program for New Century Excellent Talents in the University of China under contract grant No. NCET-04-0641; the Numerical study on the support and regulate of hydrodynamics to biological productivity in the Huanghai Sea under contract grant No. NSFC-40830854.
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Han, J., Wei, H., Zhao, L. et al. The effects of horizontal advection on the spring bloom of phytoplankton in the central Southern Huanghai Sea. Acta Oceanol. Sin. 30, 24–31 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13131-011-0087-6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13131-011-0087-6