Work

Pushing and pulling an algal bloom: Physical controls of diel variability in nearshore phytoplankton biomass

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: High-biomass microalgal blooms frequently occur in littoral environments worldwide, often causing noxious effects on aquatic ecosystems and coastal communities. Here, we combine field observations and a simple retention-dispersion model to disentangle the short-term (hours) environmental drivers shaping the nearshore dynamics of such outbreaks. Temperature, salinity, fluorescence, current velocities, and meteorological variables were measured in the nearshore waters of a coastal location in Mallorca (Balearic Islands) during the summer of 2018. Daily averages from field data were used to adjust wind and buoyancy flow variations into a one-dimensional advection-diffusion model. Results reveal that the interplay between wind forcing and cross-shore density gradients drives an alternating retention dispersion mechanism, effectively explaining the observed diel chlorophyll variability within the nearshore boundary. This simplified model captures the primary dynamics of the bloom, isolating key factors that influence its behavior and offering practical insights for coastal water quality monitoring and management.

Source: Ecological Modelling

DOI: 10.1016/j.ecolmodel.2025.111290

Authors: Medea Zanoli, Gotzon Basterretxea, Idan Tuval

Institution: Mediterranean Institute for Advanced Studies

Language: English

Topic: Marine and coastal ecosystems

Subfield: Oceanography

Field: Earth and Planetary Sciences

Domain: Physical Sciences

SDG: Life below water

Open Access status: hybrid

Estimated APC paid: $2,810