Dynamics of Primary Productivity and Oceanographic Parameters under Influence of the Amazon River Plume
Fluvial inflows
carry significant amounts of nutrients, affecting especially continental
platform regions, which act as a final recipient of these waters and have a
major impact on the phytoplankton community structure. The dynamic structure
resulting from this process is a mass of floating water with density lower than
that of coastal waters, called a river plume.
Primary production
and chlorophyll a concentrations are always dependent on synergistic effects
among meteorological, physical, chemical and biological factors that limit or
stimulate the activity of photosynthetic planktonic organisms. The aim of this
work was to analyze the distribution of oceanographic parameters, chlorophyll a
and primary productivity under the influence of the Amazon River plume, during
the period of greatest extension of the Amazon plume.
Collections were
carried out in the “Camadas Finas V” oceanographic campaign held in
September/2014 at 16 stations along the continental shelf of the Amazon and
adjacent oceanic region, aboard of the NHo 38 ship. At each station, surface
vertical profiles (up to 400 m) of hydrodynamic, physical, chemical and
biological parameters were measured. In addition, water
samples were collected with Niskin bottles at the two depths selected for the
determination of dissolved oxygen, nutrients, chlorophyll a and phytoplankton
productivity.
The surface currents along the coast were of lower intensity in the
northwest direction, while currents with higher intensities were observed in
the east direction, mainly due to the retroflexion of the North Current of
Brazil at this time of the year. The spatial influence of the plume was
observed in the salinity, although the high precipitation in the region may
also have contributed as a source of freshwater. However, the sampled region
showed strong negative linear correlation of silicate, chlorophyll a and
primary productivity with salinity. The primary productivity and chlorophyll a
decreased their values as they moved away from the coast.
In conclusion, the Amazon River plume can reach and influence the oceanographic and
biological parameters in a large area of this oligotrophic region. And the
results also suggest that the export of material from the adjacent coastal
region is a determinant factor of the productivity of the studied region,
mainly due to the geographic extension of the plume of the Amazon River at this
time of the year.
Article by Amanda
Otsuka, et al, from Brazil and France.
Full access: http://mrw.so/4UHiAX
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