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Asymmetry in the Rate of Warming and the Phenology of Seasonal Blooms in the Northeast US Shelf EcosystemPredicting the impact of marine ecosystem warming on the timing and magnitude of phytoplankton production is challenging. For example, warming can advance the progression of stratification thereby changing the availability of nutrients to surface phytoplankton, or influence the surface mixed layer depth, thus affecting light availability. Here, we use a time series of sea surface temperature (SST) and chlorophyll remote sensing products to characterize the response of the phytoplankton community to increased temperature in the Northeast US Shelf Ecosystem. The rate of change in SST was higher in the summer than in winter in all ecoregions resulting in little change in the timing and magnitude of the spring thermal transition compared to a significant change in the autumn transition. Along with little phenological shift in spring thermal conditions, there was also no evidence of a change in spring bloom timing and duration. However, we observed a change in autumn bloom timing in the Georges Bank ecoregion, where bloom initiation has shifted from late September to late October between 1998 and 2020—on average 33 d later. Bloom duration in this ecoregion also shortened from ∼7.5 to 5 weeks. The shortened autumn bloom may be caused by later overturn in stratification known to initiate autumn blooms in the region, whereas the timing of light limitation at the end of the bloom remains unchanged. These changes in bloom timing and duration appear to be related to the change in autumn thermal conditions and the significant shift in autumn thermal transition. These results suggest that the spring bloom phenology in this temperate continental shelf ecosystem may be more resilient to thermal climate change effects than blooms occurring in other times of the year.
Document ID
20230001497
Acquisition Source
Goddard Space Flight Center
Document Type
Reprint (Version printed in journal)
Authors
Kevin D. Friedland ORCID
(National Marine Fisheries Service Silver Spring, Maryland, United States)
Nicholas R. Record ORCID
(Bigelow Laboratory For Ocean Sciences Boothbay, Maine, United States)
Daniel E. Pendleton ORCID
(New England Aquarium Boston, Massachusetts, United States)
William M. Balch ORCID
(Bigelow Laboratory For Ocean Sciences Boothbay, Maine, United States)
Karen Stamiezkin ORCID
(Bigelow Laboratory For Ocean Sciences Boothbay, Maine, United States)
John R. Moisan ORCID
(Wallops Flight Facility Wattsville, Virginia, United States)
Damian C. Brady ORCID
(University of Maine Orono, Maine, United States)
Date Acquired
January 30, 2023
Publication Date
February 6, 2023
Publication Information
Publication: ICES Journal of Marine Science
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Volume: 80
Issue: 2
Issue Publication Date: February 1, 2023
ISSN: 1054-3139
e-ISSN: 1095-9289
Subject Category
Geosciences (General)
Meteorology and Climatology
Funding Number(s)
WBS: 430728.02.13.02.02
CONTRACT_GRANT: NNX17A177G
CONTRACT_GRANT: 80NSSC22K165
CONTRACT_GRANT: NSSC21K1748
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Portions of document may include copyright protected material.
Technical Review
External Peer Committee
Keywords
climate change
continental shelf
phenology
phytoplankton blooms
temperature
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