Honors College Thesis
 

Investigating physical drivers of phytoplankton bloom initiation in the Northern Gulf of Alaska

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https://ir.library.oregonstate.edu/concern/honors_college_theses/gb19ff72p

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Abstract
  • The spring bloom is a key oceanic phenomenon in the Northern Gulf of Alaska (NGA), where it supports the regional ecosystem, fisheries, and CO2 sequestration. Despite its significance, mechanisms that trigger NGA blooms are still debated, largely due to a lack of sufficient data from late winter through spring. New datasets from autonomous underwater gliders provide high-temporal-resolution sampling of the upper ocean across the winter-spring transition, which allows the opportunity to advance our understanding of the regional spring blooms. Using glider collected data on the Northern Gulf of Alaska mid-shelf from March 1 to May 3, 2023, the spring bloom initiation was identified (April 20, 2023) as corresponding to the largest observed daily increase in chlorophyll-a concentration. This initiation date was found to closely follow increased daily net PAR, increased upper ocean thermal stratification, and a shoaling of the mixed layer depth. These conditions were associated with seasonally increasing day lengths, a break in cloud cover, and a simultaneous decline of surface wind stress. Based on the timing of bloom initiation relative to the physical observed changes, our data suggests support for the Critical Depth Hypothesis as a suitable model for explaining the 2023 NGA spring bloom initiation.
  • Keywords: Northern Gulf of Alaska, spring bloom, oceanography, phytoplankton
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  • New Orleans, Louisiana, USA
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Related Items
  • Northern Gulf of Alaska LTER
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  • National Science Foundation (NSF)
  • Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU)
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  • 49 pages

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