THE SIGNIFICANCE OF SHORT-TERM WIND INDUCED MIXING EVENTS FOR NEW PRIMARY PRODUCTION IN SUBTROPICAL GYRES

Wind induced mixing events have been proposed as a mechanism by which nutrient rich water from below the nitracline can be introduced into the oceanic mixed layer to sustain new (or non-regenerative) primary production in oligotrophic ocean surface waters. A one-dimensional numerical model is used to examine this possibility, using data from station S in the Sargasso Sea, as being representative of sub-tropical gyre conditions. At most times of the year such events are unlikely to penetrate deep enough to affect the vertical nitrate flux so that, if the high rates of new production suggested in some recent studies are correct, alternative mechanisms of nitrate injection to the euphotic zone must be sought. -Authors

Overview