The Importance of Bathymetry to Seasonal Plankton Blooms in Hecate Strait, B.C.

  • R. I. Perry
  • B. R. Dilke
Chapter
Part of the Lecture Notes on Coastal and Estuarine Studies book series (COASTAL, volume 17)

Abstract

The shallow sea tidal mixing model proposed by Simpson and Hunter (1974) is based on two competing physical processes: the tendency for a water column to stratify due to a surface buoyancy flux (resulting from heat or fresh water), and the tendency for mixing derived from the tide and wind to prevent this stratification. Given a constant buoyancy flux over an area, the resulting pattern of mixed and stratified water masses is due to variations in the tidal and wind energy dissipation rates. Both these rates depend on the water depth (Simpson et al., 1978), but tidal mixing wil; be more closely coupled with bathymetry because of the inverse relation between depth and current velocity. This model of contrasting mixing regimes has been used successfully to describe plankton dynamics during summer (e.g. Pingree, 1978; and other chapters in this volume) by representing nutrient and light conditions favorable for phytoplankton growth.

Keywords

Spring Bloom Buoyancy Flux Critical Depth Surface Mixed Layer Plankton Bloom 
These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.
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Copyright information

© Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 1986

Authors and Affiliations

  • R. I. Perry
    • 1
  • B. R. Dilke
    • 2
  1. 1.Department of OceanographyUniversity of British ColumbiaVancouverCanada
  2. 2.SidneyCanada

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