[ESAC Seminar] Lexi Jones-Kellett

“The phytoplankton response to Lagrangian eddy trapping in the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre”

Understanding the role of mesoscale eddies in regulating phytoplankton growth and distributions is essential for improving models of marine primary productivity, a highly uncertain parameter in global climate projections. The “classical” eddy is effectively coherent, or traps and transports waters, with low phytoplankton biomass in anticyclones and high in cyclones. Breaking this mold, anticyclones in the world’s subtropical gyres have high chlorophyll concentrations, a proxy for phytoplankton biomass, and Lagrangian perspectives reveal that eddies globally have diverse lateral trapping capabilities. From two decades of satellite remote sensing observations in the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre, we compared the chlorophyll anomalies within leaky and strictly coherent eddy boundaries derived from Lagrangian particle simulations. While Lagrangian coherent vortices maintain the largest biological anomalies on average in both cyclones and anticyclones, there is significant regional and seasonal variability within the gyre. Our results challenge oversimplifications of the phytoplankton response to eddies, highlighting the importance of the interplay between the trapping strength, location, and environmental conditions.

ESAC Student Seminar Series —

A forum for students and postdocs to share recent research, hone presentation skills, and build community among peers, sponsored by the EAPS Student Advisory Committee. Open to current EAPS graduate and undergraduate students and postdocs. Typically hosted on Thursdays during the semester, including pizza lunch.

Contact: esac.officers@gmail.com