Abstract
The energetic mesoscale and submesoscale processes in the Southwest Indian Ocean (SWIO) have a significant effect on phytoplankton growth revealed by satellite observations and numerical simulations. Based on observations from two Bio-Argo floats deployed in the SWIO, a prominent phenomenon of subsurface Chl-a maximum (SCM) is observed in this region during spring, summer and autumn. After comparing the Chl-a profiles with and without mixed layer restratification (ML restratification), we found that the ML restratification favors to increase the upper ocean Chl-a concentration in spring, autumn and winter, while decrease Chl-a concentration in summer, which could be explained by nutrient-light colimitation on growth rates. Further analysis imply ML restratification is likely caused by the surface heating and up-front wind-driven Ekman transport.
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