Kelvin-Helmholtz billow intensity determines effect on pelagic ecosystems in the Kuroshio
Description
Echo sounder images revealed weak and strong Kelvin-Helmholtz (KH) billow conditions produced over a seamount along the Kuroshio in two separate surveys. This dataset includes CTD information, and chlorophyll a and nitrate profiles used for the analyses needed to describe the effects of varying KH billow intensities on pelagic ecosystems in the Kuroshio. Vertical profiles of temperature, nitrates and chlorophyll a were plotted, using Surfer 13, for a time-series survey over K seamount and along two transects surveyed during each cruise. KH billows in the ocean appear to contribute to the vertical transport of nutrients, which promotes chlorophyll a production. Shallow billows, regardless of vertical scale seem to contribute to subsurface chlorophyll production by entrainment of ambient dissolved inorganic nutrients. Deeper billows, on the other hand, have a more direct role in resuspending materials from the seafloor.