A new look at the oceanography of the Bay of Biscay

Some results of the Bay of Biscay regional oceanography presented at ISOBAY are summarized including contributions to physical oceanography, chemical and biological oceanography, marine geology, deep water ecology, marine pollution, fisheries research and cetacean studies. A long-term analysis of the spring bloom of phytoplankton in the area during the last 17 years (1997–2014) is presented as an example of Bay of Biscay climate research. The Spring Bloom presents cycles of 4–6 years reflecting probably the availability of nutrients from the previous winter and has increased in peak intensity during the last decades.

Temporal changes in total and size-fractioned chlorophyll-a in surface waters of three provinces in the Atlantic Ocean (September to November) between 2003 and 2010

Phytoplankton total chlorophyll concentration (TCHLa) and phytoplankton size structure are two important ecological indicators in biological oceanography. Using high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) pigment data, collected from surface waters along the Atlantic Meridional Transect (AMT), we examine temporal changes in TCHLa and phytoplankton size class (PSC: micro-, nano- and pico-phytoplankton) between 2003 and 2010 (September to November cruises only), in three ecological provinces of the Atlantic Ocean. The HPLC data indicate no significant change in TCHLa in northern and equatorial provinces, and an increase in the southern province. These changes were not significantly different to changes in TCHLa derived using satellite ocean-colour data over the same study period. Despite no change in AMT TCHLa in northern and equatorial provinces, significant differences in PSC were observed, related to changes in key diagnostic pigments (fucoxanthin, peridinin, 19′-hexanoyloxyfucoxanthin and zeaxanthin), with an increase in small cells (nano- and pico-phytoplankton) and a decrease in larger cells (micro-phytoplankton). When fitting a three-component model of phytoplankton size structure — designed to quantify the relationship between PSC and TCHLa to each AMT cruise, model parameters varied over the study period. Changes in the relationship between PSC and TCHLa have wide implications in ecology and marine biogeochemistry, and provide key information for the development and use of empirical ocean-colour algorithms. Results illustrate the importance of maintaining a time-series of in-situ observations in remote regions of the ocean, such as that acquired in the AMT programme.

Is the Russell Cycle a true cycle? Multidecadal zooplankton and climate trends in the western English Channel

The Russell Cycle is one of the classical examples of climate influence on biological oceanography, represented as shifts in the marine plankton over several decades with warm and cool conditions. While the time-series data associated with the phenomenon indicate cyclical patterns, the question remains whether or not the Russell Cycle should be considered a “true cycle”. Zooplankton time-series data from 1924 to 2011 from the western English Channel were analysed with principal component (PC), correlation and spectral analyses to determine the dominant trends, and cyclic frequencies of the Russell Cycle indicators in relation to long-term hydroclimatic indices. PC1 accounted for 37.4% of the variability in the zooplankton data with the main contributions from non-clupeid fish larvae, southwestern zooplankton, and overall zooplankton biovolume. For PC2 (14.6% of data variance), the dominant groups were northern fish larvae, non-sardine eggs, and southern fish larvae. Sardine eggs were the major contributors to PC3 (representing 12.1% of data variance). No significant correlations were observed between the above three components and climate indices: Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation, North Atlantic Oscillation, and local seawater temperature. Significant 44- and 29-year frequencies were observed for PC3, but the physical mechanisms driving the cycles are unclear. Harmonic analysis did not reveal any significant frequencies in the physical variables or in PCs 1 and 2. To a large extent, this is due to the dominant cycles in all datasets generally being long term (>50 years or so) and not readily resolved in the examined time frame of 88 years, hence restricting the ability to draw firm conclusions on the multidecadal relationship between zooplankton community dynamics in the western English Channel and environmental indices. Thus, the zooplankton time-series often associated and represented as the Russell Cycle cannot be concluded as being truly cyclical.

Is the Russell Cycle a true cycle? Multidecadal zooplankton and climate trends in the western English Channel

The Russell Cycle is one of the classical examples of climate influence on biological oceanography, represented as shifts in the marine plankton over several decades with warm and cool conditions. While the time-series data associated with the phenomenon indicate cyclical patterns, the question remains whether or not the Russell Cycle should be considered a “true cycle”. Zooplankton time-series data from 1924 to 2011 from the western English Channel were analysed with principal component (PC), correlation and spectral analyses to determine the dominant trends, and cyclic frequencies of the Russell Cycle indicators in relation to long-term hydroclimatic indices. PC1 accounted for 37.4% of the variability in the zooplankton data with the main contributions from non-clupeid fish larvae, southwestern zooplankton, and overall zooplankton biovolume. For PC2 (14.6% of data variance), the dominant groups were northern fish larvae, non-sardine eggs, and southern fish larvae. Sardine eggs were the major contributors to PC3 (representing 12.1% of data variance). No significant correlations were observed between the above three components and climate indices: Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation, North Atlantic Oscillation, and local seawater temperature. Significant 44- and 29-year frequencies were observed for PC3, but the physical mechanisms driving the cycles are unclear. Harmonic analysis did not reveal any significant frequencies in the physical variables or in PCs 1 and 2. To a large extent, this is due to the dominant cycles in all datasets generally being long term (>50 years or so) and not readily resolved in the examined time frame of 88 years, hence restricting the ability to draw firm conclusions on the multidecadal relationship between zooplankton community dynamics in the western English Channel and environmental indices. Thus, the zooplankton time-series often associated and represented as the Russell Cycle cannot be concluded as being truly cyclical.