Satellite-Derived Biophysical Provinces: Tools for Objective Investigations of Marine Ecosystems

KAVANAUGH, MT; HALES, B.; SARACENO, M.; SPITZ, YH; WHITE AE; CHURCH, MJ

Congreso; 2012 Ocean Sciences Meeting; 2012

Understanding and modeling pelagic responses to perturbation is hampered by lack of a formal ecological framework to link local mechanisms to large scale patterns in a spatially and temporally explicit manner. To facilitate comparative analysis between ecosystems and provide spatiotemporal context for eulerian time series, we applied the patch mosaic paradigm of landscape ecology to the study of seasonal and interannual variability of the North Pacific. Dynamic seascapes were classified with a probabilistic self-organizing mapping algorithm using satellite-derived sea surface temperature, photosynthetically active radiation, and chlorophyll-a and verified with em>in situ data. The location of seascape boundaries fluctuates on interannual scales, with contextual effects varying by season. In winter months, interannual encroachment of temperate seascapes into the subtropics is associated with positive anomalies of eukaryotic phytoplankton abundance and increased productivity at Station ALOHA. During summers, increased productivity at Station ALOHA is associated with increased isolation from seascape boundaries. A quantitative seascape ecology framework can provide improved means of monitoring and interpreting oceanographic biophysical dynamics and an objective, quantitative step toward the consilience of oceanic time series and global satellite studies.