The edge effect in the Northeast North Pacific Ocean
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Abstract
During April 1989, an intensive, short-term study of oceanic zooplankton tested the hypothesis that multidimensional distribution (patchiness, diffusion, layering) reflects the water mass interaction in the Northeast North Pacific Ocean (NENPO) during the spring season. The mixing water masses created an edge effect to which the biota responded. A dual frequency sonar array (38 kHz, 200 kHz), towing in tandem with an oceanographic sensor system, recorded zooplankton and environmental changes across various water masses. The tandem sensor system was a method to synoptically map the NENPO at the beginning of the productive period of early spring over an area of 3.3 × 105 km, 125 m in depth. Results from the plankton data showed patchiness and layers conforming to oceanographic physical features. These patterns appeared to define the interactions of the water masses and confirm the hypothesis.
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