Collaborative Research: Physical-Biological Processes of Gulf Stream Warm Core Rings: Vertical Nutrient Delivery and Ecosystem Response

作用于西部边界流和大陆架之间的暖核环对斜坡海和沿海海洋的物理和生物环境产生重大影响，这些海洋是全球初级生产的主要贡献者。然而，与开放海洋中的涡旋相比，湾流暖核环在陆架-斜坡系统生物物理过程中的作用受到的关注较少，而且存在相反的结果。这项研究将通过研究湾流暖核环的生物量特征和控制垂直营养物质输送的主要物理机制来阐明其关键的生物物理机制。通过这项研究增进对营养动态的理解，将有助于管理海洋生物资源，并更好地管理生态系统。研究成果将通过公开讲座向公众介绍。该项目还将通过伍兹霍尔海洋研究所的夏季本科生研究计划支持海洋学以外的本科生的培训。该项目调查与西北大西洋陆架-斜坡系统中墨西哥湾流暖核环演化有关的物理-生物过程，重点是控制垂直营养物质输送的主导物理过程。研究将包括对卫星数据、历史现场数据和数值模拟的分析。为了更好地了解几个中尺度生物物理过程的相对重要性，将首先利用卫星观测的海面高度和叶绿素浓度来表征暖核环内的光自养生物量。然后，研究人员将进行理想化的数值模拟实验，以确定负责垂直营养物质输送的主要物理过程，包括由摩擦衰减引起的垂直混合和垂直平流，涡流诱导的Ekman抽水，以及风-海表面温度相互作用。理想化建模的结果将在西北大西洋地区的现实耦合生物物理模型中进一步综合。

Warm core rings acting between western boundary currents and the continental shelf exert significant impact on the physical and biological environments of the slope seas and coastal oceans, which are major contributors to the global primary production. However, compared to that of eddies in the open ocean, the role of Gulf Stream warm core rings in the biophysical processes of the shelf-slope system has received less attention, and contrasting results exist. This study will elucidate the key biophysical mechanisms by investigating the biomass characteristics and the dominant physical mechanisms controlling the vertical nutrient delivery associated with Gulf Stream warm core rings. The improved understanding on nutrient dynamics from this research will contribute to the stewardship of living marine resources, and better ecosystem management. Research findings will be presented to the general public through public lectures. This project will also support the training of undergraduate students outside of oceanography through the Summer Undergraduate Research Program at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.This project investigates the physical-biological processes associated with the evolution of Gulf Stream warm core rings in the shelf-slope system of the Northwest Atlantic, with a focus on the dominant physical processes controlling vertical nutrient delivery. The research will include analyses of satellite data, historical in situ data, and numerical simulations. For better understanding of the relative importance of several mesoscale biophysical processes, the photoautotrophic biomass within the warm core rings will be characterized first using satellite observed sea surface height and chlorophyll concentration. The investigators will then conduct idealized numerical modeling experiments to identify the dominant physical processes responsible for vertical nutrient delivery including vertical mixing and vertical advection induced by frictional decay, eddy-induced Ekman pumping, and wind-sea surface temperature interaction. The findings from the idealized modeling will be further synthesized in a realistic coupled biophysical model for the Northwest Atlantic region.