Semidiurnal temperature changes caused by tidal front movements in the warm season in seabed habitats on the georges bank northern margin and their ecological implications.

ABSTRACT: Georges Bank is a large, shallow feature separating the Gulf of Maine from the Atlantic Ocean. Previous studies demonstrated a strong tidal-mixing front during the warm season on the northern bank margin between thermally stratified water in the Gulf of Maine and mixed water on the bank. Tides transport warm water off the bank during flood tide and cool gulf water onto the bank during ebb tide. During 10 days in August 2009, we mapped frontal temperatures in five study areas along ∼100 km of the bank margin. The seabed "frontal zone", where temperature changed with frontal movment, experienced semidiurnal temperature maxima and minima. The tidal excursion of the frontal boundary between stratified and mixed water ranged 6 to 10 km. This "frontal boundary zone" was narrower than the frontal

SUBMITTER: Guida VG 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3566201 | biostudies-literature | 2013

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature