Upper Layers Of Ocean Research Articles

Application of High-Brightness LEDs for Simultaneous Measurement of Radiation Scattering and Fluorescence Characteristics in Sea Water

The studies of radiation scattering and fluorescence in sea environment are required for more precise description of radiation behaviour in the upper layers of ocean and diagnostics of environmental condition of seawaters. Application of high-brightness LEDs allowed us to develop a unique method and device for studying of scattering properties and fluorescence of natural waters. Brief descriptions of the device (nephelometer) design and the results of its testing are given. The main advantage of the proposed method is controlled accountancy of the effect of coherent scattering on the results of measurements. Measurements of characteristics of all types of scattering are made by means of one device and using one sample.

Energy of the jets of the Antarctic circumpolar current and of their eddies in the surface layer of the Southern Ocean

Kinetic energy of six jets of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC) and of the cyclonic and anticyclonic synoptic eddies generated by these jets is studied in application to the surface layer of Antarctic Circle. The study is based on the data of satellite altimeter observations during 1993–2015 available in the Internet (http://aviso.altimetry.fr). Main results of the study: a) five times excess of the mean energy of jets proper over the mean summary (cyclones plus anticyclones) energy of eddies; b) prevalence of the energy of middle jet of Subantarctic Current over energy of the rest ACC jets in the whole of Antarctic Circle; c) two times excess of mean energy of cyclonic eddies over energy of anticyclones in the upper ocean layer.

Energy of the Jets of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current and of Their Eddies in the Surface Layer of the Southern Ocean

The kinetic energy of six jets of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC) and of the cyclonic and anticyclonic mesoscale eddies generated by these jets is studied in application to the surface layer of Antarctic Circle. The study is based on satellite altimetry data for 1993–2015 available at http://aviso.altimetry.fr . Main results of the study are (a) a fivefold excess of the mean energy of jets proper over the mean total (cyclones plus anticyclones) energy of eddies; (b) the prevalence of the energy of the core jet of the Subantarctic Current over the energy of the rest of the ACC jets in the entire Antarctic Circle; (c) a twofold excess of the mean energy of cyclonic eddies over the energy of anticyclones in the upper ocean layer.

SKIM, a Candidate Satellite Mission Exploring Global Ocean Currents and Waves

The Sea surface KInematics Multiscale monitoring (SKIM) satellite mission is designed to explore ocean surface current and waves. This includes tropical currents, notably the poorly known patterns of divergence and their impact on the ocean heat budget, and monitoring of the emerging Arctic up to 82.5 • N. SKIM will also make unprecedented direct measurements of strong currents, from boundary currents to the Antarctic circumpolar current, and their interaction with ocean waves with expected impacts on air-sea fluxes and extreme waves. For the first time, SKIM will directly measure the ocean surface current vector from space. The main instrument on SKIM is a Ka-band conically scanning, multi-beam Doppler radar altimeter/wave scatterometer that includes a state-of-the-art nadir beam comparable to the Poseidon-4 instrument on Sentinel 6. The well proven Doppler pulse-pair technique will give a surface drift velocity representative of the top meter of the ocean, after subtracting a large wave-induced contribution. Horizontal velocity components will be obtained with an accuracy better than 7 cm/s for horizontal wavelengths larger than 80 km and time resolutions larger than 15 days, with a mean revisit time of 4 days for of 99% of the global oceans. This will provide unique and innovative measurements that will further our understanding of the transports in the upper ocean layer, permanently distributing heat, carbon, plankton, and plastics. SKIM will also benefit from co-located measurements of water vapor, rain rate, sea ice concentration, and wind vectors provided by the European operational satellite

Arctic Sea Ice Decline in the 2010s: The Increasing Role of the Ocean—Air Heat Exchange in the Late Summer

This study is focused on the specific features of ocean–air interaction in the Laptev Sea, in the late summer, on the basis of recurrent measurements during four expeditions in the 2000s and 2010s, atmospheric reanalysis products, and satellite ice concentration data. It was established that in the “icy” years, the accumulation of heat in the upper ocean layer is insignificant for the subsequent ice formation. In the “ice-free” years, the accumulated heat storage in the upper mixed layer depends on the duration of open water and the distance of the point of interest to the nearest ice edge. In a broader context, we considered possible links between the average ice area/extent in the August–September–October (ASO) period, and in the December–January–February (DJF) period, for two representative Arctic regions; that is, the Eurasian segment, defined within the bounds 60–120° E, 65–80° N, and the American segment, defined within the bounds 150° E–150° W, 65–80° N. Significant “seasonal memory”, characterized by the consistent change of the ice cover parameters in sequential seasons, was revealed in the Eurasian segment between 2007 and 2017. No linkage on a seasonal time scale was found in the American segment. A possible explanation for the distinguished contrast between the two geographical regions is proposed.

The Potential and Challenges of Using Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP) Sea Surface Salinity to Monitor Arctic Ocean Freshwater Changes

Sea surface salinity (SSS) links various components of the Arctic freshwater system. SSS responds to freshwater inputs from river discharge, sea ice change, precipitation and evaporation, and oceanic transport through the open straits of the Pacific and Atlantic oceans. However, in situ SSS data in the Arctic Ocean are very sparse and insufficient to depict the large-scale variability to address the critical question of how climate variability and change affect the Arctic Ocean freshwater. The L-band microwave radiometer on board the NASA Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP) mission has been providing SSS measurements since April 2015, at approximately 60 km resolution with Arctic Ocean coverage in 1–2 days. With improved land/ice correction, the SMAP SSS algorithm that was developed at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) is able to retrieve SSS in ice-free regions 35 km of the coast. SMAP observes a large-scale contrast in salinity between the Atlantic and Pacific sides of the Arctic Ocean, while retrievals within the Arctic Circle vary over time, depending on the sea ice coverage and river runoff. We assess the accuracy of SMAP SSS through comparative analysis with in situ salinity data collected by Argo floats, ships, gliders, and in field campaigns. Results derived from nearly 20,000 pairs of SMAP and in situ data North of 50°N collocated within a 12.5-km radius and daily time window indicate a Root Mean Square Difference (RMSD) less than ~1 psu with a correlation coefficient of 0.82 and a near unity regression slope over the entire range of salinity. In contrast, the Hybrid Coordinate Ocean Model (HYCOM) has a smaller RMSD with Argo. However, there are clear systematic biases in the HYCOM for salinity in the range of 25–30 psu, leading to a regression slope of about 0.5. In the region North of 65°N, the number of collocated samples drops more than 70%, resulting in an RMSD of about 1.2 psu. SMAP SSS in the Kara Sea shows a consistent response to discharge anomalies from the Ob’ and Yenisei rivers between 2015 and 2016, providing an assessment of runoff impact in a region where no in situ salinity data are available for validation. The Kara Sea SSS anomaly observed by SMAP is missing in the HYCOM SSS, which assimilates climatological runoffs without interannual changes. We explored the feasibility of using SMAP SSS to monitor the sea surface salinity variability at the major Arctic Ocean gateways. Results show that although the SMAP SSS is limited to about 1 psu accuracy, many large salinity changes are observable. This may lead to the potential application of satellite SSS in the Arctic monitoring system as a proxy of the upper ocean layer freshwater exchanges with subarctic oceans.

“Atlantification” as a Possible Cause for Reducing of the Sea-Ice Cover in the Nansen Basin in winter

The paper presents arguments in favor of an explanation of the reduction of the ice-covered area in the Nansen basin of the Arctic Ocean (AO) in winter by the so-called “atlantification “ — the strengthening of the influence of waters of Atlantic origin on the hydrological regime of the Arctic Ocean. We hypothesize that the main agent of “atlantification” in theWesternNansenBasinis winter thermal convection, which delivers heat from the deep to the upper mixed layer, thus melting sea ice and warming the near-surface air. To check up this hypothesis we used ocean reanalysis MERCATOR data for time interval 2007–2017. The quantitative criterion of thermal convection, based on the type of vertical thermohaline structure in the upper ocean layer, was applied to access the change of convection depth between climatic values in 1950–1990 and the present time. The main conclusion of the paper can be summarized as the following. Due to a gradual reduction of sea ice in the 1990s, the vertical stratification of waters in theWesternNansenBasinhas changed. As a result, the potential for penetration of vertical thermal convection into the warm and saline Atlantic layer and the consumption of heat and salt content of this layer for warming and salinification of the overlying waters increased, thus leading to additional loss of sea ice in winter.

The Effect of Seasonal Variability of Atlantic Water on the Arctic Sea Ice Cover

Under the influence of global warming, the sea ice in the Arctic Ocean (AO) is expected to reduce with a transition toward a seasonal ice cover by the end of this century. A comparison of climate-model predictions with measurements shows that the actual rate of ice cover decay in the AO is higher than the predicted one. This paper argues that the rapid shrinking of the Arctic summer ice cover is due to its increased seasonality, while seasonal oscillations of the Atlantic origin water temperature create favorable conditions for the formation of negative anomalies in the ice-cover area in winter. The basis for this hypothesis is the fundamental possibility of the activation of positive feedback provided by a specific feature of the seasonal cycle of the inflowing Atlantic origin water and the peaking of temperature in the Nansen Basin in midwinter. The recently accelerated reduction in the summer ice cover in the AO leads to an increased accumulation of heat in the upper ocean layer during the summer season. The extra heat content of the upper ocean layer favors prerequisite conditions for winter thermohaline convection and the transfer of heat from the Atlantic water (AW) layer to the ice cover. This, in turn, contributes to further ice thinning and a decrease in ice concentration, accelerated melting in summer, and a greater accumulation of heat in the ocean by the end of the following summer. An important role is played by the seasonal variability of the temperature of AW, which forms on the border between the North European and Arctic basins. The phase of seasonal oscillation changes while the AW is moving through the Nansen Basin. As a result, the timing of temperature peak shifts from summer to winter, additionally contributing to enhanced ice melting in winter. The formulated theoretical concept is substantiated by a simplified mathematical model and comparison with observations.

Stokes drift.

During its periodic motion, a particle floating at the free surface of a water wave experiences a net drift velocity in the direction of wave propagation, known as the Stokes drift (Stokes 1847 Trans. Camb. Philos. Soc.8, 441-455). More generally, the Stokes drift velocity is the difference between the average Lagrangian flow velocity of a fluid parcel and the average Eulerian flow velocity of the fluid. This paper reviews progress in fundamental and applied research on the induced mean flow associated with surface gravity waves since the first description of the Stokes drift, now 170 years ago. After briefly reviewing the fundamental physical processes, most of which have been established for decades, the review addresses progress in laboratory and field observations of the Stokes drift. Despite more than a century of experimental studies, laboratory studies of the mean circulation set up by waves in a laboratory flume remain somewhat contentious. In the field, rapid advances are expected due to increasingly small and cheap sensors and transmitters, making widespread use of small surface-following drifters possible. We also discuss remote sensing of the Stokes drift from high-frequency radar. Finally, the paper discusses the three main areas of application of the Stokes drift: in the coastal zone, in Eulerian models of the upper ocean layer and in the modelling of tracer transport, such as oil and plastic pollution. Future climate models will probably involve full coupling of ocean and atmosphere systems, in which the wave model provides consistent forcing on the ocean surface boundary layer. Together with the advent of new space-borne instruments that can measure surface Stokes drift, such models hold the promise of quantifying the impact of wave effects on the global atmosphere-ocean system and hopefully contribute to improved climate projections.This article is part of the theme issue 'Nonlinear water waves'.

A Spectrally Selective Attenuation Mechanism‐Based Kpar Algorithm for Biomass Heating Effect Simulation in the Open Ocean

AbstractQuantifying the diffuse attenuation coefficient of the photosynthetically available radiation (Kpar) can improve our knowledge of euphotic depth (Zeu) and biomass heating effects in the upper layers of oceans. An algorithm to semianalytically derive Kpar from remote sensing reflectance (Rrs) is developed for the global open oceans. This algorithm includes the following two portions: (1) a neural network model for deriving the diffuse attention coefficients (Kd) that considers the residual error in satellite Rrs, and (2) a three band depth‐dependent Kpar algorithm (TDKA) for describing the spectrally selective attenuation mechanism of underwater solar radiation in the open oceans. This algorithm is evaluated with both in situ PAR profile data and satellite images, and the results show that it can produce acceptable PAR profile estimations while clearly removing the impacts of satellite residual errors on Kpar estimations. Furthermore, the performance of the TDKA algorithm is evaluated by its applicability in Zeu derivation and mean temperature within a mixed layer depth (TML) simulation, and the results show that it can significantly decrease the uncertainty in both compared with the classical chlorophyll‐a concentration‐based Kpar algorithm. Finally, the TDKA algorithm is applied in simulating biomass heating effects in the Sargasso Sea near Bermuda, with new Kpar data it is found that the biomass heating effects can lead to a 3.4°C maximum positive difference in temperature in the upper layers but could result in a 0.67°C maximum negative difference in temperature in the deep layers.

Interannual Variability in the North Atlantic Ocean’s Temperature Field and Its Association with the Wind Stress Forcing

Spectral analyses of the North Atlantic temperature field in the Simple Ocean Data Analysis (SODA) reanalysis identify prominent and statistically significant interannual oscillations along the Gulf Stream front and in large regions of the North Atlantic. A 7–8-yr oscillatory mode is characterized by a basinwide southwest-to-northeast–oriented propagation pattern in the sea surface temperature (SST) field. This pattern is found to be linked to a seesaw in the meridional dipole structure of the zonal wind stress forcing (TAUX). In the subpolar gyre, the SST and TAUX fields of this mode are shown to be in phase opposition, which suggests a cooling effect of the wind stress on the upper ocean layer. Over all, this mode’s temperature field is characterized by a strong equivalent-barotropic component, as shown by covariations in SSTs and sea surface heights, and by phase-coherent behavior of temperature layers at depth with the SST field. Recent improvements of multivariate singular spectrum analysis (M-SSA) help separate spatiotemporal patterns. This methodology is developed further and applied to studying the ocean’s response to variability in the atmospheric forcing. Statistical evidence is shown to exist for other mechanisms generating oceanic variability of similar 7–8-yr periodicity in the Gulf Stream region; the latter variability is likewise characterized by a strongly equivalent-barotropic component. Two other modes of biennial variability in the Gulf Stream region are also identified, and it is shown that interannual variability in this region cannot be explained by the ocean’s response to similar variability in the atmospheric forcing alone.

Impact of wave breaking on upper-ocean turbulence

Previous studies have demonstrated that surface wave breaking can impact upper-ocean turbulence through wave-breaking-induced turbulence kinetic energy (TKE) flux and momentum flux. Wave-breaking-induced momentum flux decays approximately exponentially with depth, and the decay exponent depends on both the wind speed and wave age. With increasing wave age, the decay speed of wave-breaking-induced momentum flux first decreases, reaching a minimum around a wave age of 16, and then increases. In this study, a wave-breaking-induced momentum flux parameterization was proposed based on wave age and wind-speed dependence. The new proposed parameterization was introduced into a one-dimensional (1-D) ocean model along with a wave-age-dependent wave-breaking-induced TKE flux parameterization. The simulation results showed that the wave-breaking impact on the ocean mainly affected the upper-ocean layer. Adding the wave-age impact to the wave-breaking-induced TKE flux and momentum flux improved the 1-D model performance concerning the sea temperature. Moreover, the wave-breaking-induced momentum flux had a larger impact on the simulation results than the wave-breaking-induced TKE flux.

Cold period in the Northern Europe in the past (about 8200 years ago): analysis of empirical data and possible causes

Cold episode in Northern Europe happened about 8200 years ago was known for a relatively long time, mainly due to paleobotanical (palynological) data obtained from analysis of lake and peat sediments. Detailed analysis of ice cores from the Greenland holes GRIP, GISP2, and NGRIP with a time resolution of about 10 years made possible to refine the duration and characteristics of the time structure of this cold period. This cooling lasted for approximately 160 yr. Spore-pollen analysis of lake sediments in Northern Europe (Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Germany, the North and North-West of Russia) and deep-sea cores of the North Atlantic showed that the mean annual air temperature during the maximum stage of the cooling was reduced by 1–2 °C, and in some areas by more than 3 °C. The cold spread from the coast of the North Atlantic into the European continent and manifested itself mostly in Sweden, Finland, the Baltic States, and to a lesser extent in the North-West and West of the Russian Federation. In the central Russia and North of 70°N the cooling was weak or absent. The question about a nature of this cold event and other cold spells in Late Glaciation, known as the cold of the early, middle and late Dryas, is widely discussed in the scientific literature. Most of scientists accept a hypothesis proposed more than 20 years ago, that the reduction of air temperatures in regions immediately adjacent to the North Atlantic was caused by the large volume of melt water discharged into the ocean as a result of disintegration and melting of ice-sheets. Climate models that take into account these effects allow estimating a decrease in the air and sea surface temperature due to freshening (desalination) of the upper ocean layer, and this confirms that the greatest decrease in temperature should be observed in the regions directly adjacent to the ocean. The increase in global temperature over the last 30 years is estimated to be 0.8 ± 0.2 °C, which is already reflected in a noticeable increase in precipitation in high latitudes. In addition, the melting of mountain glaciers and sea ice in the Arctic basin promotes freshening of the upper ocean, and as a result of these processes one can expect a certain decrease in the air temperature in the high latitudes if the present-day climate warming will continue. On the basis of paleoclimatic data, it can be assumed that such a decrease in air temperature can be relatively small and occur only in areas directly adjacent to the North Atlantic.

A fully-coupled atmosphere-ocean-wave model of the Caspian Sea

Located in the mid-latitudes, the Caspian Sea is the largest enclosed basin in the world. A fully-coupled atmosphere-ocean-wave model of the Caspian Sea at high resolution (8 km) for a period of three years is presented. After validating each component of the modelling platform, the wave state of the Caspian Sea is studied. Results show very different wave regimes between the three different basins, a strong seasonality and an almost swell-free state. It is shown here that waves modify the horizontal eddy viscosity and vertical heat diffusion. However, due to a reasonably weak annual wave state, these effects are restricted to the upper-ocean layer (< 30 m) except during the most severe events (100 m).Three main experiments are conducted: 1) the ROMS ocean model forced by atmospheric reanalysis (CFSR), 2) ROMS coupled with the atmospheric model WRF and 3) the impact of wave-induced processes. The seasonality of the Caspian Sea is accurately captured in each experiment which highlights a rapid warming of the sea surface temperature (SST) in spring while the mixed layer depths (MLD) become very rapidly shallow (shifting from over 100 m to 15 m in two months). Contrarily, a gentle cooling of the SST accompanied with a deepening of the MLD is modelled during autumn and winter. The results also show a significant improvement of the model skill in the representation of the dynamics when ROMS is coupled to WRF.Finally, as ocean surface waves imply feedback at the interface atmosphere-ocean through the transfer of momentum, mass and heat, we investigate their potential effects on the Caspian Sea dynamics. Results are mixed and show a reasonably weak impact of wave-induced processes. While waves have a negligible effect during the winter as wave-induced mixing is confined to the MLD, the summer global SST are less accurately modelled due to the enhancement of mixing in shallow MLDs. However the SST bias, temperature at a subsurface location are improved.

Climate model biases in the eastern tropical oceans: causes, impacts and ways forward

The eastern boundaries of the tropical and subtropical oceans are regions of high biological productivity that support some of the world's largest fisheries. They also feature extensive stratocumulus cloud decks that play a pivotal role in the response of the climate system to greenhouse gas forcing. Global climate models experience great difficulties simulating eastern boundary regions, with one of the most notable shortcomings being warm sea‐surface temperature biases that often exceed 5 K. These model biases are due to several reasons. (1) Weaker than observed alongshore winds lead to an underrepresentation of upwelling and alongshore currents and the cooling associated with them. (2) Stratocumulus decks and their effects on shortwave radiation are underpredicted in the models. (3) The offshore transport of cool waters by mesoscale eddies is not adequately represented by global models due to insufficient resolution. (4) The sharp vertical temperature gradient separating the warm upper ocean layer from the deep ocean is too diffuse in the models. More work will be required to assess the relative importance of these error sources and to find ways of mitigating them. Coordinated multi‐model experiments are vital to achieve this goal, as are enhanced ocean and atmosphere observations of the eastern boundary regions. To what extent eastern ocean biases compromise the models' ability to produce accurate seasonal predictions, and climate change projections should be another focus of research efforts. WIREs Clim Change 2015, 6:345–358. doi: 10.1002/wcc.338This article is categorized under: Climate Models and Modeling &gt; Knowledge Generation with Models

Interannual Variability of the Mixed Layer Winter Convection and Spice Injection in the Eastern Subtropical North Atlantic

AbstractThe Argo dataset is used to study the winter upper-ocean conditions in the northeastern subtropical (NEA) Atlantic during 2006–12. During late winter 2010, the mixed layer depth is abnormally shallow and a negative anomaly of density-compensated salinity, the so-called spiciness, is generated in the permanent pycnocline. This is primarily explained by unusual weak air–sea buoyancy flux during the late winter 2010, in contrast with the five other studied winters. Particularly deep mixed layers and strong spiciness anomalies are observed during late winter 2012. The 2010 winter conditions appear to be related to historically low North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) and high tropical North Atlantic index (TNA). Interannual variability of the eastern subtropical mixed layer is further investigated using a simple 1D bulk model of mean temperature and salinity linear profiles, based on turbulent kinetic energy conservation in the upper-ocean layer, and forced only with seasonal air–sea buoyancy forcing corresponding to fall–winter 2006–12. It suggests that year-to-year variability of the winter convective mixing driven by atmospheric buoyancy flux is able to generate interannual variability of both late winter mixed layer depth and spiciness in a strongly compensated layer at the base of the mixed layer and in the permanent pycnocline.

Coupling between upper ocean layer variability and size-fractionated phytoplankton in a non-nutrient-limited environment

We describe the coupling between upper ocean layer variability and size-fraction- ated phytoplankton distribution in the non-nutrient-limited Bransfield Strait region (BS) of Antarc- tica. For this purpose we use hydrographic and size-fractionated chlorophyll a data from a transect that crossed 2 fronts and an eddy, together with data from 3 stations located in a deeply mixed region, the Antarctic Sound (AS). In the BS transect, small phytoplankton ( 20 µm ESD) accounted for 80% of total chl a. The proportion of large phytoplankton increases as the depth of the upper mixed layer (ZUML), and the corresponding rate of vertical mixing, increases. We hypothesize that this change in phytoplankton composition with varying ZUML is related to the competition for light, and results from modification of the light regime caused by vertical mixing.

Deep-Sea Bioluminescence Blooms after Dense Water Formation at the Ocean Surface

The deep ocean is the largest and least known ecosystem on Earth. It hosts numerous pelagic organisms, most of which are able to emit light. Here we present a unique data set consisting of a 2.5-year long record of light emission by deep-sea pelagic organisms, measured from December 2007 to June 2010 at the ANTARES underwater neutrino telescope in the deep NW Mediterranean Sea, jointly with synchronous hydrological records. This is the longest continuous time-series of deep-sea bioluminescence ever recorded. Our record reveals several weeks long, seasonal bioluminescence blooms with light intensity up to two orders of magnitude higher than background values, which correlate to changes in the properties of deep waters. Such changes are triggered by the winter cooling and evaporation experienced by the upper ocean layer in the Gulf of Lion that leads to the formation and subsequent sinking of dense water through a process known as “open-sea convection”. It episodically renews the deep water of the study area and conveys fresh organic matter that fuels the deep ecosystems. Luminous bacteria most likely are the main contributors to the observed deep-sea bioluminescence blooms. Our observations demonstrate a consistent and rapid connection between deep open-sea convection and bathypelagic biological activity, as expressed by bioluminescence. In a setting where dense water formation events are likely to decline under global warming scenarios enhancing ocean stratification, in situ observatories become essential as environmental sentinels for the monitoring and understanding of deep-sea ecosystem shifts.

Currents in the Drake Passage by the observations in October–November of 2011

The currents in the Drake Passage are studied from the ADCP and CTD data acquired in a section across the Drake Passage in October-November of 2011 and from the satellite altimeter data. A complicated pattern of currents including eight jets of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC) and a system of slope and abyssal currents was found. The most interesting result is the discovery of several cyclonic and anticyclonic mesoscale eddies confined to the abyss. Some reasons explaining the generation of such eddies by the meandering of the ACC jets in the upper ocean layer are presented.

Eddy-Driven Stratification Initiates North Atlantic Spring Phytoplankton Blooms

Springtime phytoplankton blooms photosynthetically fix carbon and export it from the surface ocean at globally important rates. These blooms are triggered by increased light exposure of the phytoplankton due to both seasonal light increase and the development of a near-surface vertical density gradient (stratification) that inhibits vertical mixing of the phytoplankton. Classically and in current climate models, that stratification is ascribed to a springtime warming of the sea surface. Here, using observations from the subpolar North Atlantic and a three-dimensional biophysical model, we show that the initial stratification and resulting bloom are instead caused by eddy-driven slumping of the basin-scale north-south density gradient, resulting in a patchy bloom beginning 20 to 30 days earlier than would occur by warming.