Phytoplankton distribution on the East China Sea determined by the interaction between the Yangtze River runoff and the Kuroshio

摘要

The phytoplankton distribution in the East China Sea (ECS) was analyzed by the statistics of the discharge and the4 sediment load of the Yangtze River at the Datong station from 2000 to 2005 and satellite images of chlorophyll-a concentration which were observed by Sea-viewing Wide Field-of-view Sensor (SeaWiFS) from 2000 to 2005. This study suggests that phytoplankton distribution in the ECS in the spring and fall season could be determined by the amount of discharge, sediment load, and sediment concentration from the Yangtze River. The standing stocks of chlorophyll-a along the water column could be determined by the nutrient concentrations through the winter season. Also, this study suggests that the sediment load may have two functions to increase the primary productivity by an increase of silicate concentration and to decrease the primary productivity by an increase of diffused attenuation coefficient. However, the phytoplankton distribution in the summer season could not be simply determined from the discharge, sediment load, and sediment concentration from the Yangtze River. The associated or inherent parameters like diffused attenuation coefficient or primary productivity may have a significant contribution to the spatial distribution of phytoplankton in the summer.