Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-ndw9j Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-11T02:21:40.772Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Macro and mesoscale physical patterns in the Bay of Biscay

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  25 March 2008

Julio Gil
Julio Gil*
Affiliation:
Instituto Español de Oceanografía, Centro Oceanográfico de Santander, Promontorio de San Martín s.n. E-39004, PO Box 240, Santander, Spain
*
Correspondence should be addressed to: Julio GilInstituto Español de Oceanografía Centro Oceanográfico de SantanderPromontorio de San Martín s.n. E-39004 PO Box 240 SantanderSpain email: julio.gil@st.ieo.es
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

The study area for this work includes all the southern edge of the Bay of Biscay, from the north-west Iberian Peninsula to the southern half of the French shelf. The principal aim of this article is to provide a complete overview of the physical oceanography of the area, mainly in its mesoscale aspects, of which there are few published studies, and the implications for early fish life history stages. The results showed the existence of two space and temporal scales for most of the physical processes that occur in the Bay of Biscay, a macroscale for seasonal time periods and a meso and submesoscale for the periods between seasons. The importance of local phenomena, such as upwelling or the variability of the Poleward Current, was observed. The interaction of both scales on these physical processes is discussed and the need for sampling at the submesoscale level to determine the distribution of ichthyoplankton is considered. Moreover, the mesoscale physical oceanography study is essential to improve the knowledge of interactions between strategies and environmental conditions that result in a significant mortality reduction in fish early stages.

Keywords

Bay of Biscaymesoscalephysical–biological couplingupwellingIberian poleward currentichthyoplankton
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom , Volume 88 , Issue 2 , March 2008 , pp. 217 - 225
Copyright
Copyright © Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 2008

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Allain, G., Petitgas, P. and Lazure, P. (2001) The influence of mesoscale ocean processes on anchovy (Engraulis encrasicolus) recruitment in the Bay of Biscay estimated with a three-dimensional hydrodynamic model. Fisheries Oceanography 10, 151–163.Google Scholar
Alvarez, P., Motos, L., Uriarte, A. and Egaña, J. (2001) Spatial and temporal distribution of European hake (Merluccius merluccius L.), eggs and larvae in relation to hydrographical conditions in the Bay of Biscay. Fisheries Research 50, 111–128.Google Scholar
Bakun, A. (2006) Fronts and eddies as key structures in the habitat of marine fish larvae: opportunity, adaptive response and competitive advantage. Scientia Marina 70, 105–122.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bakun, A. and Broad, K. (2003) Environmental ‘loopholes’ and fish population dynamics: comparative pattern recognition with focus on El Niño effects in the Pacific. Fisheries Oceanography 12, 458–473.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bratseth, A.M. (1986) Statistical interpolation by means of successive correction. Tellus 38A, 439–447.Google Scholar
Espinosa-Fuentes, M.L. and Flores-Coto, C. (2004) Cross-shelf and vertical structure of ichthyoplankton assemblages in continental shelf waters of the Southern Gulf of Mexico. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Sciences 59, 333–352.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fernández, E., Alvarez-Marques, F., Anadón, R., Barquero, S., Bode, A., García, A., Garcia-Soto, C., Gil, J., González, N., Iriarte, A., Mouriño, B., Rodríguez, F., Sánchez, R., Teira, E., Torres, S., Valdés, L., Varela, M., Varela, R. and Zapata, M. (2004) An overview of the physical, chemical and ecological properties of a Slope Water Oceanic Anticyclonic eDDY (SWODDY) in the southern Bay of Biscay. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the UK 84, 501–517.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Frouin, R., Fiúza, A.F.G., Ambar, I. and Boyd, T.J. (1990) Observations of a Poleward Surface Current off the coasts of Portugal and Spain during winter. Journal of Geophysical Research 5(C1), 679–691.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
García-Soto, C., Pingree, R.D. and Valdés, L. (2002) Navidad development in the southern Bay of Biscay: climate change and swoddy structure from remote sensing and in situ measurements. Journal of Geophysical Research 107(C8), 10.1029/2001JC001012.Google Scholar
Gil, J. (2003) Changes in the pattern of water masses resulting from a poleward slope current in the Cantabrian Sea (Bay of Biscay). Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science 57, 1139–1149.Google Scholar
Gil, J. and Sánchez, R. (2003) Aspects concerning the occurrence of summer upwelling along the southern Bay of Biscay during 1993–2000. ICES Marine Science Symposia 219, 337–339.Google Scholar
Gil, J., Valdés, L., Moral, M., Sánchez, R. and Garcia-Soto, C. (2002) Mesoscale variability in a high-resolution grid in the Cantabrian Sea (southern Bay of Biscay), May 1995. Deep-Sea Research I 49, 1591–1607.Google Scholar
Gonzalez-Quirós, R., Cabal, J., Álvarez-Marqués, F. and Isla, A. (2003) Ichthyoplankton distribution and plankton production related to the shelf break front at the Avilés Canyon. ICES Journal of Marine Science 60, 198–210.Google Scholar
Gonzalez-Quirós, R., Pascual, A., Gomis, D. and Anadón, R. (2004) Influence of mesoscale physical forcing on trophic pathways and fish larvae retention in the central Cantabrian Sea. Fisheries Oceanography 13, 351–364.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Haynes, R. and Barton, E.D. (1990) A poleward flow along the Atlantic coast of the Iberian peninsula. Journal of Geophysical Research 95, 11425–11441.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ibaibarriaga, L., Irigoien, X., Santos, M., Motos, L., Fives, J.M., Franco, C., Lgo de Lanzós, A., Acevedo, S., Bernal, M., Bez, N., Eltink, G., Farinha, A., Hammer, C., Iversen, S.A., Milligan, S.P. and Reid, D.G. (2007) Egg and larval distributions of seven fish species in north-east Atlantic waters. Fisheries Oceanography 16, 284–293.Google Scholar
Irigoien, X., Fiksen, O., Cotano, U., Uriarte, A., Avarez, P., Arrizabalaga, H., Boyra, G., Santos, M., Sagarminaga, Y., Otheguy, P., Etxebeste, E., Zarauz, L., Artetxe, I. and Motos, L. (2007) Could Biscay Bay anchovy recruit through a spatial loophole? Progress in Oceanography, 2007, doi:10.1016/j.pocean.2007.04.011.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
John, H.-Ch., Mohrholz, V. and Lutjehrms, J.R.E. (2001) Cross-front hydrography and fish larval distribution at the Angola–Benguela Frontal Zone. Journal of Marine Systems 28, 91–111.Google Scholar
Lazure, P. and Jegou, A. (1998) 3D modelling of seasonal evolution of Loire and Gironde plumes on Biscay Bay continental shelf. Oceanologica Acta 21, 165–177.Google Scholar
Le Pape, J., Désaunay, Y. and Guérault, D. (2003) Relationship between fluvial discharge and sole (Solea solea L.) recruitment in the Bay of Biscay (France). ICES Marine Science Symposia 219, 241–248.Google Scholar
Pingree, R.D. and Le Cann, B. (1992) Three anticyclonic Slope Water Oceanic eDDIES (SWODDIES) in the southern Bay of Biscay in 1990. Deep-Sea Research 39, 1147–1175.Google Scholar
Puillat, I., Lazure, P., Jegou, A.M., Lampert, L. and Miller, P. (2006) Mesoscale hydrological variability induced by northwesterly wind on the French continental shelf of the Bay of Biscay. Scientia Marina 70, 15–26.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rodriguez, J.M., Barton, E.D., Eve, L. and Hernández-León, S. (2001) Mesozooplankton and ichthyoplankton distribution around Gran Canaria, an oceanic island in the NE Atlantic. Deep-Sea Research I 48, 2161–2183.Google Scholar
Rodriguez, J.M., Barton, E.D., Hernandez-Leon, S. and Aristegui, J. (2004) The influence of mesoscale physical processes on the larval fish larvae community in the Canaries-CTZ, in summer. Progress in Oceanography 62, 171–188.Google Scholar
Rodriguez, J.M., Hernandez-Leon, S. and Barton, E.D. (1999) Mesoscale distribution of fish larvae in relation to an upwelling filament off Northwest Africa. Deep-Sea Research I 46, 1969–1984.Google Scholar
Sanchez, F. and Gil, J. (2000) Hydrographic mesoscale structures and Poleward Current as a determinant of hake (Merluccius merluccius) recruitment in southern Bay of Biscay. ICES Journal of Marine Science 57, 152–170.Google Scholar
Sánchez, R. and Gil, J. (2004) 3D structure, mesoscale interactions and potential vorticity conservation in a swoddy in the Bay of Biscay. Journal of Marine Systems 46, 47–68.Google Scholar
Santos, A.M.P., Peliz, A., Dubert, J., Oliveira, P.B., Angélico, M.M. and Ré, P. (2004) Impact of a winter upwelling event on the distribution and transport of sardine (Sardina pilchardus) eggs and larvae off western Iberia: a retention mechanism. Continental Shelf Research 24, 149–165.Google Scholar