Journal of Tropical Oceanography ›› 2023, Vol. 42 ›› Issue (4): 113-124.doi: 10.11978/2022166CSTR: 32234.14.2022166

• Marine Biology • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Intra-seasonal regulation and mechanism on sea surface chlorophyll in the upwelling off the coast of Vietnam

LIN Shaowen1(), REN Hengye2, LU Wenfang2,3()   

  1. 1. The Academy of Digital China, Fuzhou University, Fuzhou 350108, China
    2. School of Marine Sciences, Sun Yat-sen University, Zhuhai 519000, China
    3. Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Zhuhai), Zhuhai 519000, China
  • Received:2022-07-25 Revised:2022-10-06 Online:2023-07-10 Published:2022-10-11
  • Supported by:
    National Natural Science Foundation of China(41906019)

Abstract:

In summer, high phytoplankton biomass often occurs in the Vietnam Boundary upwelling System (VBUS) of the western South China Sea. Therein, the variation of surface chlorophyll concentration at the intra-seasonal scale (30~60 days) dominated by Madden-Julian Oscillation (MJO) can account for considerable variation, but the regulating effects and mechanism of the modulation to sea surface chlorophyll remain unclear. In this study, reconstructed remote sensing chlorophyll data and multi-source observation data were used to explore the characteristics and causes of the VBUS chlorophyll changes during MJO events. Composite analysis showed that in the late phases of MJO events, chlorophyll reached its intraseasonal maximum, while sea surface temperature (SST), zonal geostrophic current, Ekman pumping and wind speed were highly correlated in a decreasing order. Furthermore, the VBUS was divided into two sub-regions: nearshore and offshore regions. The analysis results of generalized additive model showed that the influencing factors and intensity of chlorophyll concentration in the coastal and offshore areas of VBUS were different. SST was the most important influencing factor in both regions. For the coastal region, zonal geostrophic current and Ekman pumping contributed secondly. For the offshore region, the second influence factor was zonal component of geostrophic current, and its influence was nearly equal to that of SST. We further investigated the MJO’s modulation in different El Niño years. When MJO is in the fourth to eighth phases, the El Niño’s negative effects on the chlorophyll can be compensated. In general, our study showed that the MJO’s phase determined the impact of MJO on chlorophyll in the VBUS. At the same time, the chlorophyll concentration in VBUS sea area under MJO events was controlled by SST, geostrophic zonal component and Ekman pump suction, and the impacts of different factors on VBUS were different. The study reveals the short-term variability of marine ecosystems and dynamics and can provide a new perspective for understanding the variation of chlorophyll in the South China Sea.

Key words: Vietnam boundary upwelling system, chlorophyll, intraseasonal variability