2013 journal article
Cold front induced changes on the Florida panhandle shelf during October 2008
CONTINENTAL SHELF RESEARCH, 54, 52–66.
author keywords: Karenia brevis; Pycnocline erosion; Winter mixing; Hydrographic transition; Pigment taxonomy; Gulf of Mexico
UN Sustainable Development Goal Categories
13. Climate Action
(Web of Science)
14. Life Below Water
(Web of Science; OpenAlex)
Source: Web Of Science
Added: August 6, 2018
A significant step transition between seasonally stratified and destratified hydrographic conditions occurred during an October 2008 cruise to the Florida Panhandle Shelf along a cross-shelf transect that was sampled before and after a cold front passed through the area. Meteorological measurements from nearby ocean and land-based stations characterized the event. Cross-shelf continuous Acrobat profiles and discrete CTD stations characterized water column hydrographic patterns, while mid-shelf multicorer and box corer samples characterized sediment texture and nutrients. Water samples collected from selected depths biased toward the sediment interface were analyzed for nutrient content and phytoplankton community composition. Pre-front, the cross-shelf water column exhibited vertical stratification with complex temperature and salinity patterns. A prominent near-bottom chlorophyll a maximum of ∼1.5 μg L−1 between the 25–35 m isobaths occurred with the 1% light level at ∼18 m depth and a near-bottom nitrate+nitrite (NO3−+NO2−) maximum >3 μM between the 30–40 m isobaths. HPLC-determined phytoplankton community composition in the near-bottom chlorophyll a maximum consisted of gyroxanthin-containing dinoflagellates (Karenia brevis) and less abundant diatoms, both verified by FlowCAM analysis, mixed with detectable cryptophytes and chlorophytes. Sediment trends based on limited core replicates suggested the sediments were a potential source of nutrients to near-bottom populations of K. brevis and that shell hash could provide abundant pore space for K. brevis incursions. Between the 40–50 m isobaths, diatoms, cryptophytes and chlorophytes dominated near-bottom, gyroxanthin-containing dinoflagellates and prasinophytes occurred throughout the water column, and cyanophytes dominated near-surface. Post-front, the cross-shelf water column exhibited destratification with temperature and salinity increasing offshore. A chlorophyll a maximum of ∼0.75 μg Chl a L−1 left the sediment between 25–35 m isobaths and extended offshore especially in the lower water column with the 1% light level at ∼15 m depth and NO3−+NO2− concentrations ∼2 μM to the 60 m isobath. HPLC-determined phytoplankton community composition of the offshore plume retained the signature of gyroxanthin-containing dinoflagellates and chlorophytes. Between the 30–50 m isobaths, prasinophytes increased in the lower water column, while cyanophytes increased at all depths across the shelf. The observed step transition from stratification to destratification on the Florida Panhandle Shelf contributed to altered phytoplankton community patterns in response to predominant downwelling favorable winds. Pre-front, K. brevis cells were broadly distributed cross-shelf, but concentrated near-bottom between the 25–35 m isobaths and staged for prolific bloom seeding in response to the upwelling favorable west winds more typical of spring-summer. Post-front, K. brevis cells were mixed throughout the mid-shelf water column and were staged for diffuse bloom seeding in response to either the downwelling or upwelling favorable winds occurring fall-winter. Cyanophytes located predominantly near-surface offshore pre-front, were ubiquitous cross-shelf and more closely associated with K. brevis post-front.