Nutrients and Chlorophyll at the Shelf Break Off the Southeastern United States During the Genesis of Atlantic Lows Experiment: Winter 1986

The outer shelf and upper slope off Charleston, South Carolina, were the site of oceanographic and meteorological measurements during the winter of 1986. The purpose of the study was to test ideas about front formation, heat transport, and stratification during cold air outbreaks. An ancillary part of the study was the observation of nutrients and chlorophyll concentrations. The observations extended across the shelf and sometimes crossed the Gulf Stream front. The results show slightly elevated nitrate concentrations in outer shelf waters (1 - 2 μM NO3) with chlorophyll concentrations in the 1 - 1.8 μg L-1 range. When effects of Gulf Stream frontal eddies are eliminated, the estimated wintertime wind-driven transport of nutrients from the deep ocean to the shelf is comparable to that observed during spring and summer. Thus significant onshore nutrient transport can occur throughout the year in this region