Vertical patterns of chlorophyll a in the euphotic layer are related to mesoscale eddies in the South China Sea

Abstract

Phytoplankton closely connects with the hydrodynamics and biogeochemical environment of the ocean. While research focusing on both the physiochemical factors and hydrodynamics regulating phytoplankton has already been conducted, the coupling mechanism between mesoscale eddies and the vertical distribution of phyto plankton in the South China Sea (SCS) is still not well understood. Here, phytoplankton was studied under one weak-cold and two warm eddies along the 18°N transect in the SCS. The results show that the vertical distribution of chlorophyll (chl-a) presented a similar pattern at all four sampling stations. The mixed layer is less than 50 m. It is the same as the meridional salinity gradients that may be distinguished above a depth of 60 m. The subsurface chlorophyll maximum at the edge of a warm (WI) and cold eddy (CI) at E413 and E411 was shallower than that at the edge of a warm eddy (WII) at E407 and E409, indicating that temperature and salinity may be the important driving factors. On the whole, mesoscale eddies had a significant influence on the vertical pattern of chl-a in the SCS during the study period.