Hydrography and chlorophyll a in a transect from the coast to the shelf-break in the Argentinian Sea

Abstract

On the basis of data obtained during eight research cruises from a section of the Buenos Aires province shelf, three systems are characterized: (1) coastal system; (2) subantarctic shelf waters system; and (3) Malvinas system. These domains are frequently separated by two quasipermanent fronts: (1) the coastal front; and (2) the shelf-break front. The patterns of seasonal variation of phytoplankton biomass in these systems are strongly related to changes in vertical stability, that controls the availability of nutrients and light energy. In the coastal system, the mixing produced by winds and tides gives homogenenous waters all year round, having the lowest nitrate concentration and the lowest N:P ratio. The amplitude of the seasonal variation of chlorophyll was relatively small, although the highest concetrations were detected in spring and autumn. The subantarctic shelf waters system is characterized by the typical development and breakdown cycle of the seasonal thermocline. Two well defined chlorophyll a maxima are observed: the main peak during spring and the secondary one during autumn. Geographical differences occur in the timing of the development and breakdown of the thermocline. Another factor of variability is the advection of low salinity waters from the coastal region of the Rio de la Plata during spring. During winter, when nutrient concentration is the highest, an increasing nitrate gradient from the coastal front to the shelf-break region is observed. During summer, surface nitrate concentration is low over the whole continental shelf, and the highest chlorophyll a concentrations are associated with the depth of the pycnocline. However, associated with the surface nitrate maximum, chlorophyll a values higher than 2 mg m −3 are recorded at the shelf-break front. The observed surface maxima are thought to be related to physical processes associated with the slope, where the enhanced mixing results in nutrient renewal and subsequent phytoplankton growth in the shelf-break region.