@article{fdi:010070878,
  title = {{S}ynoptic-to-planetary scale wind variability enhances phytoplankton biomass at ocean fronts},
  author = {{W}hitt, {D}. {B}. and {T}aylor, {J}. {R}. and {L}evy, {M}arina},
  editor = {},
  language = {{ENG}},
  abstract = {{I}n nutrient-limited conditions, phytoplankton growth at fronts is enhanced by winds, which drive upward nutrient fluxes via enhanced turbulent mixing and upwelling. {H}ence, depth-integrated phytoplankton biomass can be 10 times greater at isolated fronts. {U}sing theory and two-dimensional simulations with a coupled physical-biogeochemical ocean model, this paper builds conceptual understanding of the physical processes driving upward nutrient fluxes at fronts forced by unsteady winds with timescales of 4-16 days. {T}he largest vertical nutrient fluxes occur when the surface mixing layer penetrates the nutricline, which fuels phytoplankton in the mixed layer. {A}t a front, mixed layer deepening depends on the magnitude and direction of the wind stress, cross-front variations in buoyancy and velocity at the surface, and potential vorticity at the base of the mixed layer, which itself depends on past wind events. {C}onsequently, mixing layers are deeper and more intermittent in time at fronts than outside fronts. {M}oreover, mixing can decouple in time from the wind stress, even without other sources of physical variability. {W}ind-driven upwelling also enhances depth-integrated phytoplankton biomass at fronts; when the mixed layer remains shallower than the nutricline, this results in enhanced subsurface phytoplankton. {O}scillatory along-front winds induce both oscillatory and mean upwelling. {T}he mean effect of oscillatory vertical motion is to transiently increase subsurface phytoplankton over days to weeks, whereas slower mean upwelling sustains this increase over weeks to months. {T}aken together, these results emphasize that wind-driven phytoplankton growth is both spatially and temporally intermittent and depends on a diverse combination of physical processes.},
  keywords = {},
  booktitle = {},
  journal = {{J}ournal of {G}eophysical {R}esearch. {O}ceans},
  volume = {122},
  numero = {6},
  pages = {4602--4633},
  ISSN = {2169-9275},
  year = {2017},
  DOI = {10.1002/2016jc011899},
  URL = {https://www.documentation.ird.fr/hor/fdi:010070878},
}