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Influence of mesoscale eddies on primary production in the South China Sea during spring inter-monsoon period

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Abstract

Mesoscale eddies have been suggested to have an impact on biological carbon fixation in the South China Sea (SCS). However, their overall contribution to primary production during the spring inter-monsoon period is still unknown. Based on large-scale biological and environmental in situ observations and synchronous remote sensing data, the distribution patterns of phytoplankton biomass and the primary production, and the role of mesoscale eddies in regulating primary production in different eddy-controlled waters were investigated. The results suggested that the surface chlorophyll a concentrations and water column integrated primary production (IPP) are significantly higher in cyclonic eddies and lower in the anticyclonic eddies as compared to that in non-eddy waters. Although eddies could affect various environmental factors, such as nutrients, temperature and light availability, nutrient supply is suggested to be the most important one through which mesoscale eddies regulated the distribution patterns of phytoplankton biomass and primary production. The estimated IPP in cyclonic and anticyclonic eddies are about 29.5% higher and 16.6% lower than the total average in the whole study area, respectively, indicating that the promotion effect of mesoscale cold eddies on the primary production was much stronger than the inhibition effect of the warm eddies per unit area. Overall, mesoscale eddies are crucial physical processes that affect the biological carbon fixation and the distribution pattern of primary production in the SCS open sea, especially during the spring inter-monsoon period.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory of Marine Bio-resources Sustainable Utilization (LMB), South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, 510301, China

    Zifeng Hu, Yehui Tan, Xingyu Song, Linbin Zhou, Xiping Lian & Liangmin Huang

  2. State Key Laboratory of Tropical Oceanology (LTO), South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, 510301, China

    Yinghui He

  3. University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China

    Zifeng Hu

  4. Marine Biology Research Station at Daya Bay, Chinese Academy of Science, Shenzhen, 518121, China

    Xingyu Song

Authors
  1. Zifeng Hu
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  2. Yehui Tan
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  3. Xingyu Song
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  4. Linbin Zhou
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  5. Xiping Lian
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  6. Liangmin Huang
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  7. Yinghui He
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Correspondence to Xingyu Song.

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Foundations item: The CAS Strategic Pilot Science and Technology of China under contract Nos XDA11020205 and XDA05030403; the National Project of Basic Sciences and Technology of China under contract Nos 2012FY112400 and 2013FY111200; the National Natural Science Foundation of China under contract Nos 41276162, 41130855, 41276161 and 40906057; the Natural Science Foundation of Guangdong Province of China under contract No. S2011040000151.

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Hu, Z., Tan, Y., Song, X. et al. Influence of mesoscale eddies on primary production in the South China Sea during spring inter-monsoon period. Acta Oceanol. Sin. 33, 118–128 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13131-014-0431-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13131-014-0431-8

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