Earth Science and Engineering-ErSE, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology-KAUST, Thuwal, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
PLoS One. 2013 Jun 5;8(6):e64909. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0064909. Print 2013.
The Red Sea holds one of the most diverse marine ecosystems, primarily due to coral reefs. However, knowledge on large-scale phytoplankton dynamics is limited. Analysis of a 10-year high resolution Chlorophyll-a (Chl-a) dataset, along with remotely-sensed sea surface temperature and wind, provided a detailed description of the spatiotemporal seasonal succession of phytoplankton biomass in the Red Sea. Based on MODIS (Moderate-resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) data, four distinct Red Sea provinces and seasons are suggested, covering the major patterns of surface phytoplankton production. The Red Sea Chl-a depicts a distinct seasonality with maximum concentrations seen during the winter time (attributed to vertical mixing in the north and wind-induced horizontal intrusion of nutrient-rich water in the south), and minimum concentrations during the summer (associated with strong seasonal stratification). The initiation of the seasonal succession occurs in autumn and lasts until early spring. However, weekly Chl-a seasonal succession data revealed that during the month of June, consistent anti-cyclonic eddies transfer nutrients and/or Chl-a to the open waters of the central Red Sea. This phenomenon occurs during the stratified nutrient depleted season, and thus could provide an important source of nutrients to the open waters. Remotely-sensed synoptic observations highlight that Chl-a does not increase regularly from north to south as previously thought. The Northern part of the Central Red Sea province appears to be the most oligotrophic area (opposed to southern and northern domains). This is likely due to the absence of strong mixing, which is apparent at the northern end of the Red Sea, and low nutrient intrusion in comparison with the southern end. Although the Red Sea is considered an oligotrophic sea, sporadic blooms occur that reach mesotrophic levels. The water temperature and the prevailing winds control the nutrient concentrations within the euphotic zone and enable the horizontal transportation of nutrients.
红海拥有最多样化的海洋生态系统之一，主要归因于珊瑚礁。然而，对于大规模浮游植物动态的了解有限。通过分析 10 年高分辨率叶绿素 a（Chl-a）数据集，以及遥感海表温度和风速，详细描述了红海浮游植物生物量的时空季节性演替。基于 MODIS（中分辨率成像光谱仪）数据，建议将红海分为四个不同的省份和四个季节，涵盖了表层浮游植物生产的主要模式。红海的 Chl-a 呈现出明显的季节性，冬季浓度最高（归因于北部的垂直混合和南部风引起的富营养水的水平入侵），夏季浓度最低（与强烈的季节性分层有关）。季节性演替的开始发生在秋季，持续到早春。然而，每周的 Chl-a 季节性演替数据显示，在 6 月份，一致的反气旋涡流将营养物质和/或 Chl-a 输送到红海的开阔水域。这种现象发生在分层营养物质匮乏的季节，因此可以为开阔水域提供重要的营养物质来源。遥感天气观测强调，Chl-a 不会像以前认为的那样从北到南有规律地增加。红海中部省份的北部地区似乎是最贫营养的区域（与南部和北部区域相反）。这可能是由于缺乏明显的混合，这种混合在红海的北端很明显，而与南端相比，营养物质的入侵较少。尽管红海被认为是贫营养海，但仍会发生达到中营养水平的零星浮游植物爆发。水温和盛行风控制着真光层内的营养物质浓度，并能够实现营养物质的水平运输。
