The Influence of Physical Factors on the Variation of Phytoplankton and Nutrients in the Bohai Sea

Abstract

The cycle of the phytoplankton in a coastal water is controlled by the biological processes, solar radiation, water temperature and physical transport processes. A three-dimensional ecosystem dynamic model is adopted in this study to investigate the influence of different physical factors on the variation of phytoplankton and nutrients in the Bohai Sea. The simulation is carried out for the year 1982. The simulated annual cycle of the primary production and nutrients are in reasonable agreement with the observations in the pattern. Vertical mixing can both affect the vertical transportation of nutrients and horizontal distribution of primary production. In winter the vertical distribution of nutrients is homogeneous because of the intensive mixing, while in summer there is a high value of nutrients in the depth about 15 m due to the stratification. The high primary production plague and the weak mixing center is positional correspondence. The production of phytoplankton is sensitive to the photosynthetically active radiation, which is strongly influenced by the transparency. The increase of the transparency can promote the production in spring and autumn significantly, but has little effect on the production in summer. The change of the transparency can both affect the occurrence time and the amplitude of the phytoplankton bloom dramatically. Horizontal advection does not affect the variation trend of the annual cycle of chlorophyll-a, but does affect the relative magnitude of the phytoplankton bloom, especially in summer. Horizontal advection can dramatically alter the horizontal distribution of chlorophyll-a. The maximum concentration of chlorophyll-a without horizontal advection in summer is twice as high than that with advection and the high chlorophyll-a areas locate along the coast. The river discharge only has regional influence on the ecosystem. The Huanghe River with high nitrate concentration influ-ences the annual cycle of nitrogen of the Laizhou Bay significantly.