Pb. Tett et al., BIOLOGICAL CONSEQUENCES OF TIDAL STIRRING GRADIENTS IN THE NORTH-SEA, Philosophical transactions-Royal Society of London. Physical sciences and engineering, 343(1669), 1993, pp. 493-508
Tidal stirring gradients, interacting with seasonal variation in photo
synthetically active radiation, sea-surface heating , and wind stirrin
g, are proposed as the most important controls on plankton in the sout
hern North Sea. The hypothesis, in the form of a numerical model, is t
ested against observations during 1988/89 of seasonal cycles and spati
al variation in phyto- and zoo-plankton. The importance of the tidal m
ixing front, and the effects of residual circulation and nutrient-rich
river discharges, are discussed, and estimates given of microplankton
community production and its fate.