Iron Limitation and Macronutrient Dynamics Associated with Cross-shore Filaments in the California Current System

Katherine Barbeau1, Kiefer Forsch1, Lauren Manck2, Kayleen Fulton1, Maxwell Fenton1, Tyler Coale1,3, Sarah M Schwenck4,5, Robert H Lampe3,6, Michael R Stukel7 and Andrew E Allen1,3, (1)University of California San Diego, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, La Jolla, CA, United States, (2)University of California San Diego, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, La Jolla, United States, (3)J. Craig Venter Institute, La Jolla, CA, United States, (4)Scripps Institution of Oceanography, La Jolla, CA, United States, (5)J. Craig Venter Institute La Jolla, La Jolla, CA, United States, (6)Scripps Institution of Oceanography, La Jolla, United States, (7)Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL, United States
Abstract:
Upwelling filaments are common features of Eastern Boundary Current upwelling systems such as the California Current. The balance of forces within filaments makes them very efficient vehicles for transporting material from nearshore upwelling zones to offshore waters. These mesoscale phenomena can contain a predictable population gradient driven by processes of mixing, nutrient drawdown, and community evolution. In addition to the well-documented effects of macronutrient limitation, iron limitation and co-limitation are increasingly being recognized as an influence on phytoplankton communities within upwelling filaments as they move offshore, with associated consequences for community structure, macronutrient utilization patterns, material advection and export. This presentation will summarize recent Lagrangian field studies from the California Current Ecosystem Long Term Ecological Research program which attempt to constrain the role of iron limitation in the biogeochemical evolution and effects of cross-shore filaments.
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