US GLOBEC: Investigation of Wate-Mass Exchange Across the Tidal Mixing Front over Southern Georges Bank and Its Impact on Larval Fish and Zooplankton Populations

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

U.S. GLOBEC: Water-Mass Exchange across the Tidal Mixing Front over Southern Georges Bank and Its Impact on Larval Fish and Zooplankton PopulationsThis project will focus on water mass exchange and mixing across the tidal mixing front over Georges Bank and the impact these processes have on larval fish and zooplankton populations. As part of the project, a series of field studies will be carried out in the region of the tidal mixing front over the northeast peak and southern flank during May-June 1999. These studies will include dye and drifter tracking as well as ADCP, CTD, and video plankton recorder (VPR) surveys. In addition, the investigators will use a diagnostic model to explore how differences in near-frontal motions and mixing rates influence larval and zooplankton movement. The field data will be analyzed to (1) resolve the 3-dimensional circulation and zooplankton population field in the region of the tidal mixing front, (2) to identify regions of convergence onto the front, (3) to quantify rates of convergence and cross-frontal exchange of both water and zooplankton, (4) to quantify diapycnal and isopycnal mixing rates in the frontal region, and (5) to examine zooplankton swimming behavior in relation to various conditions of stratification, flow, and vertical mixing rate.