The role of physical processes for biomass dispersion over submarine banks: a study at two locations in the Northeast Atlantic Ocean

No abstracts are to be cited without prior reference to the author.

The effect of the circulation at Porcupine Bank and Rockall Bank, two submarine banks in the Northeast Atlantic, are investigated for implications for the marine ecosystem, using a combination of observations and results from numerical ocean circulation modeli simulations. Passive tracers confirm the idea that there exist areas over the banks which a isolated from its surroundings. Lagrangian particle trajectories are used to test and quantify the potential for retention. We find that passively advected organisms are more likely to remain in the near surface layers above the banks than actively migrating organisms, who might escape from the area. Finally, the response to extreme wether events is illustrated and typical time scales of retention are quantified.