Monsoon oscillations regulate fertility of the Red Sea

Tropical ocean ecosystems are predicted to become warmer, more saline, and less fertile in a future Earth. The Red Sea, one of the warmest and most saline environments in the world, may afford insights into the function of the tropical ocean ecosystem in a changing planet. We show that the concentra...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Geophysical research letters 2015-02, Vol.42 (3), p.855-862
Main Authors: Raitsos, Dionysios E., Yi, Xing, Platt, Trevor, Racault, Marie-Fanny, Brewin, Robert J. W., Pradhan, Yaswant, Papadopoulos, Vassilis P., Sathyendranath, Shubha, Hoteit, Ibrahim
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Chlorophyll
Chlorophylls
Earth
El Nino
ENSO
Fertility
Growing season
horizontal advection
Marine
Marine ecosystems
Meteorology
Monsoons
Oceans
Oscillations
Phytoplankton
phytoplankton biomass
Red Sea
Southern Oscillation
Winter
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Summary:Tropical ocean ecosystems are predicted to become warmer, more saline, and less fertile in a future Earth. The Red Sea, one of the warmest and most saline environments in the world, may afford insights into the function of the tropical ocean ecosystem in a changing planet. We show that the concentration of chlorophyll and the duration of the phytoplankton growing season in the Red Sea are controlled by the strength of the winter Arabian monsoon (through horizontal advection of fertile waters from the Indian Ocean). Furthermore, and contrary to expectation, in the last decade (1998–2010) the winter Red Sea phytoplankton biomass has increased by 75% during prolonged positive phases of the Multivariate El Niño–Southern Oscillation Index. A new mechanism is reported, revealing the synergy of monsoon and climate in regulating Red Sea greenness. Key Points Monsoon and ENSO teleconnections regulate Red Sea greenness Earth system processes unexpectedly result in a warmer but more fertile Red Sea The Red Sea chlorophyll is controlled by the intensity of winter monsoons
ISSN:0094-8276
1944-8007
DOI:10.1002/2014GL062882