Role of physical forcings and nutrient availability on the control of satellite-based chlorophyll a concentration in the coastal upwelling area of the Sicilian Channel

Authors

  • Bernardo Patti Istituto per l’Ambiente Marino Costiero, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Sede di Capo Granitola
  • Cástor Guisande Facultad de Ciencias, Campus Universitario Lagoas-Marcosende, Universidad de Vigo
  • Angelo Bonanno Istituto per l’Ambiente Marino Costiero, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Sede di Capo Granitola
  • Gualtiero Basilone Istituto per l’Ambiente Marino Costiero, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Sede di Capo Granitola
  • Angela Cuttitta Istituto per l’Ambiente Marino Costiero, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Sede di Capo Granitola
  • Salvatore Mazzola Istituto per l’Ambiente Marino Costiero, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Sede di Capo Granitola

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.3989/scimar.2010.74n3577

Keywords:

upwelling, Ekman transport, nutrients, chlorophyll a, Mediterranean Sea, Sicilian Channel

Abstract


The northern sector of the Sicilian Channel is an area of favourable upwelling winds, which ought to support primary production. However, the values for primary production are low when compared with other Mediterranean areas and very low compared with the most biologically productive regions of the world’s oceans: California, the Canary Islands, Humboldt and Benguela. The aim of this study was to identify the main factors that limit phytoplankton biomass in the Sicilian Channel and modulate its monthly changes. We compared satellite-based estimates of chlorophyll a concentration in the Strait of Sicily with those observed in the four Eastern Boundary Upwelling Systems mentioned above and in other Mediterranean wind-induced coastal upwelling systems (the Alboran Sea, the Gulf of Lions and the Aegean Sea). Our results show that this low level of chlorophyll is mainly due to the low nutrient level in surface and sub-surface waters, independently of wind-induced upwelling intensity. Further, monthly changes in chlorophyll are mainly driven by the mixing of water column and wind-induced and/or circulation-related upwelling processes. Finally, primary production limitation due to the enhanced stratification processes resulting from the general warming trend of Mediterranean waters is not active over most of the coastal upwelling area off the southern Sicilian coast.

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Published

2010-09-30

How to Cite

1.
Patti B, Guisande C, Bonanno A, Basilone G, Cuttitta A, Mazzola S. Role of physical forcings and nutrient availability on the control of satellite-based chlorophyll a concentration in the coastal upwelling area of the Sicilian Channel. Sci. mar. [Internet]. 2010Sep.30 [cited 2024Mar.28];74(3):577-88. Available from: https://scientiamarina.revistas.csic.es/index.php/scientiamarina/article/view/1185

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