[Submission]: 2023 Gulf of Maine Phytoplankton Bloom

[khyde]

Primary Contact

[email protected]

Secondary Contact

[email protected]

Data Name (This will be the displayed title in Catalog)

TBD

Indicator Name (as exists in ecodata)

Other

Family (Which group is this indicator associated with?)

• Oceanographic
• Habitat
• Lower trophic levels
• Megafauna
• Social
• Economic

Data Description

Synthesis of the 2023 Gulf of Maine Tripos muelleri bloom.

Introduction to Indicator (Please explain your indicator)

In 2023, there was a wide-spread, long-duration phytoplankton bloom of the dinoflagellate Tripos muelleri. The bloom resulted in record high (since 1998) chlorophyll concentrations that were up to ten times greater than the long-term average (1998-2023). The bloom was observed throughout the Gulf of Maine from March to August and extended onto Georges Bank and the northern Mid-Atlantic Bight (Fig. ). The bloom severely reduced water clarity, impacting harpoon fishing and likely affecting visual predators. Blooms of large phytoplankton species such as diatoms (20-200 µm) are a primary source of energy to the system. However, despite the size of Tripos (100-200 µm), initial observations indicate that the bloom was not grazed, nor did it sink to the bottom. The specific drivers of the bloom and implications to the food web are still under investigation.

Key Results and Visualization

• Description of the satellite imagery
• Addition of the CPR data

Implications

Under investigation...

Spatial Scale

Gulf of Maine, Georges Bank and northern Mid-Atlantic Bight

Temporal Scale

Spring-Summer 2023

Synthesis Theme

• Multiple System Drivers
• Regime Shifts
• Ecosystem Reorganization

Define Variables

Chlorophyll concentration (mg m^-3)
Chlorophyll anomaly (ratio)
Tripos Continuous Plankton Recorder index (unitless)

Indicator Category

• Published Methods
• Extensive analysis, not yet published
• Syntheses of published information
• Database pull
• Database pull with analysis
• Other

If other, please specify indicator category

No response

Data Contributors

Kimberly Hyde
Chris Melrose

Point(s) of Contact

Kimberly Hyde - [email protected]

Affiliation

NEFSC

Public Availability

Source data are publicly available.

Accessibility and Constraints

No response

[khyde]

Note, this is incomplete, but I wanted to get something started so that @cmelrose and I can work on it together.

[khyde]

@BBeltz1 What is the recommendation for linking to other references such as this online report?