Environmental drivers and advective transport of harmful phytoplankton in North West European shelf seas
type: CreativeWork
description: Harmful phytoplankton occur naturally in British waters. However, little is known about the environmental drivers that lead to the formation and advection of harmful algae blooms (HABs). To minimise adverse effects of HABs it is necessary to improve our understanding of links between advection, environmental changes and HAB development. The aims of this PhD project were therefore to: 1) Provide a better understanding of the relationship between harmful phytoplankton, environmental drivers and key hydrodynamic features such as the shelf edge; 2) Determine the role of advection in bloom transport and development; 3) Utilise computational modelling to study environmental drivers and advection of HABs. To achieve these aims, field data was collected from two cruises and a glider mission. During the cruises, data on phytoplankton community was collected alongside physical data with a focus on key features such as the shelf edge and seasonal coastal fronts. This data provided an updated, detailed assessment of phytoplankton across the Hebridean and Malin Shelves. Field data showed that the European Slope Current (ESC) and Islay front can separate phytoplankton communities on the shelf. Lack of community differences along the ESC suggested stronger transport and exchange of phytoplankton within the ESC than adjacent shelf waters. Nutrients, nutrient ratios and light conditions were also found to play major structuring roles in determining phytoplankton assemblage. Data collected during field work can also be useful for regulatory assessment of shelf seas by providing baseline information about phytoplankton communities in the area. The glider mission provided an additional high resolution dataset of biological and physical water column properties across the Malin shelf. Vertical resolution showed that phytoplankton distribution was strongly linked to thermal stratification and temperature changes. Horizontal resolution was highly patchy, suggesting that scientific cruises …
abstract: Harmful phytoplankton occur naturally in British waters. However, little is known about the environmental drivers that lead to the formation and advection of harmful algae blooms (HABs). To minimise adverse effects of HABs it is necessary to improve our understanding of links between advection, environmental changes and HAB development. The aims of this PhD project were therefore to: 1) Provide a better understanding of the relationship between harmful phytoplankton, environmental drivers and key hydrodynamic features such as the shelf edge; 2) Determine the role of advection in bloom transport and development; 3) Utilise computational modelling to study environmental drivers and advection of HABs. To achieve these aims, field data was collected from two cruises and a glider mission. During the cruises, data on phytoplankton community was collected alongside physical data with a focus on key features such as the shelf edge and seasonal coastal fronts. This data provided an updated, detailed assessment of phytoplankton across the Hebridean and Malin Shelves. Field data showed that the European Slope Current (ESC) and Islay front can separate phytoplankton communities on the shelf. Lack of community differences along the ESC suggested stronger transport and exchange of phytoplankton within the ESC than adjacent shelf waters. Nutrients, nutrient ratios and light conditions were also found to play major structuring roles in determining phytoplankton assemblage. Data collected during field work can also be useful for regulatory assessment of shelf seas by providing baseline information about phytoplankton communities in the area. The glider mission provided an additional high resolution dataset of biological and physical water column properties across the Malin shelf. Vertical resolution showed that phytoplankton distribution was strongly linked to thermal stratification and temperature changes. Horizontal resolution was highly patchy, suggesting that scientific cruises …
author: Siemering, Beatrix
language: eng
date published: 2017-8-4
date modified: 2026-07-24T05:12:07Z
provider: University of the Highlands and Islands
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: University of the Highlands and Islands