Biophysical Modeling of Cross-Shore Plankton Transport

Coastal ecosystems are influenced by cross-shore flows. Processes that create coastal plankton distributions are not well understood, even though possible mechanisms of plankton transport in the surf zone have been investigated. Our data from a rip-channeled beach show that concentrations of zooplankton and phytoplankton are higher in the surf zone than offshore. To examine how plankton are transported toward the shore, we used a coupled biophysical model, comprised of Delft3D wave/flow simulations and an individual-based model for tracking plankton. Model results indicate that onshore delivery of zooplankton is enhanced by Stokes drift, wave-driven bottom boundary streaming, alongshore topographic variability, and turbulence-dependent sinking behavior of zooplankton. Phytoplankton sinking may also be accelerated by turbulence, but the mechanism differs from that which affects zooplankton. Turbulence has the potential to increase phytoplankton growth rates. Therefore, the phytoplankton transport model includes turbulence-induced sinking velocity and growth rate, although the latter appears to have little influence on phytoplankton distributions. Modeled phytoplankton concentrations in the surf zone are much lower than expected, although the zooplankton transport model qualitatively reproduced our observations. Thus, there must be other possible factors influencing phytoplankton transport, some of which will be discussed.