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- Title
Drivers of Physical and Biological Frontal Variability in the Northern California Current System.
- Authors
Jamil, A. L.; Kavanaugh, M. T.; Spitz, Y. H.
- Abstract
Oceanic fronts mark the boundary between two water masses and are often sites of complex bio‐physical processes and multi‐trophic level interactions, making them particularly important features in marine ecosystems. As global climate change induces multi‐scale shifts in the driving physical mechanisms of fronts, spatiotemporal tracking of frontal variability can aid in efforts to understand the downstream effects on marine biodiversity and ecosystem structure. Here we focus on fronts within the dynamic northern extent of the California Current System (NCC). We derived mesoscale sea surface temperature (SST) and chlorophyll‐a (chl‐a) fronts across the NCC region from 4‐km MODIS‐Aqua L3 daily fields over 2003–2019. Mesoscale physical (SST) and biological (chl‐a) fronts were often adjacent and coherent in their seasonal and interannual occurrence frequencies, but were spatially decoupled. SST fronts were most frequent and broadly distributed offshore while chl‐a fronts mostly occurred along the continental shelf break, particularly from Vancouver Island to central Oregon. Additionally, we employed a standardized multiple linear regression analysis to quantify the relative influence of local‐ and basin‐scale processes on frontal variability in the NCC. Local wind stress and wind stress curl variability were the most influential drivers of fronts over the shelf, while basin‐scale climate variability (i.e., climate oscillations) significantly drove frontal occurrences along the shelf break and offshore. Given predictions in the intensification of coastal upwelling in systems such as the NCC, our results indicate that oceanic response to climate change driven atmospheric variability will significantly impact the NCC marine ecosystem on the mesoscale. Plain Language Summary: The northern California Current is a complex and dynamic system where ecologically and economically significant fisheries are supported by the upwelling of deep, nutrient‐rich waters that stimulate phytoplankton production in the surface ocean. This primary production ultimately fuels the marine food web and is a key facilitator of carbon export to the deep ocean, especially within water mass boundary regions (i.e., fronts). The driving mechanisms (e.g., wind and climate oscillations), timing, and location of surface fronts can dictate the location, timing, and quality of food available across trophic levels. Therefore, assessing how fronts change through space and time can aid in predicting future shifts in ecosystem functioning and biodiversity driven by global climate change. Our study shows that physical and biological fronts had different spatial patterns in their responses to shifts in the driving physical mechanisms. While individual physical and biological fronts rarely co‐occurred, the frequencies at which they occurred in the northern California Current System were correlated on seasonal and interannual scales. As the ocean responds to global climate change, our study indicates that subsequent shifts in the location of fronts to more offshore regions have major implications for the structure and functioning of the northern California Current ecosystem. Key Points: Mesoscale biological and physical fronts were spatially decoupled, but their occurrences were correlated on seasonal to interannual scalesLocal winds and climatic oscillations are the primary drivers of frontal variability over the shelf and farther offshore, respectivelyClimate change driven spatial shifts in front location toward offshore will likely impact marine ecosystem structure and function
- Subjects
VANCOUVER Island (B.C.); OREGON; FRONTS (Meteorology); MARINE west coast climate; OCEAN temperature; WATER masses; MARINE ecology; MARINE biodiversity conservation; MAXIMUM power point trackers
- Publication
Journal of Geophysical Research. Oceans, 2023, Vol 128, Issue 6, p1
- ISSN
2169-9275
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1029/2022JC019408