Inter- and intra-annual variations in the stratification, timing, and intensity of phytoplankton blooms in the Central North Sea in the 1990s

A model for thermal stratification has been coupled with a biochemical model including one nutrient (dissolved inorganic nitrogen) and one type of phytoplankton (diatoms). The coupled model has been applied to the central North Sea for the period 1990-2000. The results show considerable variations within and between years as a function of differences in meteorological forcing. In terms of total primary production, outstanding years of the 1990s are 1991, 1998, and 1999. Most prominently, 1991 has both a high peak in net primary production and a spring bloom of long duration.

Article from Marine Science Symposia Vol. 219 - "Hydrobiological variability in the ICES Area, 1990-1999", symposium held in Edinburgh, 8-10 August 2001. To access  the remaining articles please click on the keyword "MSS Vol. 219".