Jyothibabu R, Balachandran K K, Jagadeesan L, Karnan C, Arunpandi N, Naqvi S W A, Pandiyarajan R S
CSIR-National Institute of Oceanography, Regional Centre, Kochi, India.
CSIR-National Institute of Oceanography, Dona Paula, Goa, India.
Sci Rep. 2018 Feb 7;8(1):2544. doi: 10.1038/s41598-018-20667-9.
Considering Alappuzha Mud Bank in the southern Kerala coast as a typical case of biologically productive Mud Banks that form along the southwest coast of India during the Southwest Monsoon (June - September), the present study addresses several pertinent missing links between the physical environment in Mud Banks and their influence on plankton stock. This study showed that very strong coastal upwelling prevails in the entire study domain during the Southwest Monsoon, which manifests itself in the form of significantly cool, hypoxic and nitrate-rich waters surfacing near the coast. The upwelled water persisting throughout the Southwest Monsoon period was found to have fuelled the exceptionally high phytoplankton stock in the entire study area, including the Mud Bank region. Having accepted that Mud Banks are special because of the calm sea surface conditions and relatively high turbidity level in the water column around them, the present study showed that except at points close to the sea bottom, turbidity level in the Alappuzha Mud Bank was below the critical level to inhibit the plankton stock. The suspended sediments that form in the Mud Bank occasionally could be attributed to the disturbance of the bottom fluid muddy layer and their vertical spurts.
以喀拉拉邦南部海岸的阿拉普扎泥滩为例，这是印度西南季风（6月至9月）期间在印度西南海岸形成的具有生物生产力的典型泥滩，本研究探讨了泥滩物理环境与其对浮游生物量影响之间几个相关的缺失环节。该研究表明，西南季风期间整个研究区域盛行非常强烈的沿岸上升流，其表现为海岸附近明显凉爽、缺氧且富含硝酸盐的海水上涌。发现在整个西南季风期间持续存在的上升流水为整个研究区域，包括泥滩区域，带来了异常高的浮游植物量。鉴于泥滩因其平静的海面条件和周围水柱中相对较高的浊度水平而特殊，本研究表明，除了靠近海底的点之外，阿拉普扎泥滩的浊度水平低于抑制浮游生物量的临界水平。泥滩中偶尔形成的悬浮沉积物可能归因于底部流体泥层的扰动及其垂直喷发。
