Pulses in the eastern margin current and warmer water off the north west European shelf linked to North Sea ecosystem changes

Reid, PC, Holliday, NP and Smyth, TJ 2001 Pulses in the eastern margin current and warmer water off the north west European shelf linked to North Sea ecosystem changes. Marine Ecology Progress Series, 215. 283-287. https://doi.org/10.3354/meps215283

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Abstract/Summary

The North Sea ecosystem has recently undergone dramatic changes, observed as altered biomass of individual species spanning a range of life forms from algae to birds, with evidence for an approximate doubling in the abundance of both phytoplankton and benthos as part of a regime shift after 1987. Remarkably, these changes, in part recorded in the Phytoplankton Colour Index of the Continuous Plankton Recorder (CPR) survey, are notable as episodic shifts occurring in 1988/89 and 1998 imposed on a gradual decadal trend. These biological events are shown to be a response to coincident changes in oceanic input and water temperature. Geostrophic transports have been calculated from a hydrographic section across the Rockall Trough, and a time series of seasurface temperature derived from satellite observations. The 2 pulses of oceanic incursion into the North Sea in circa 1988 and 1998 coincided with strong northward advection of anomalously warm water at the edge of the continental shelf.

Item Type:	Publication - Article
Additional Keywords:	Temperature effects Water colour Seasonal variations Salinity data Time series
Subjects:
Divisions:	Plymouth Marine Laboratory > Other (PML) Sir Alister Hardy Foundation for Ocean Science > Other (SAHFOS) (expired)
Depositing User:	EPrints Services
Date made live:	20 Sep 2006
Last Modified:	25 Apr 2020 09:55
URI:	https://plymsea.ac.uk/id/eprint/1719

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