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RESEARCH ARTICLE
Contents Vol 57(6)

Seasonal characteristics of the surface mixed layer in the Australasian region: implications for primary production regimes and biogeography

Scott A. Condie A B and Jeff R. Dunn A
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A CSIRO Marine and Atmospheric Research, GPO Box 1538, Hobart, Tasmania 7001, Australia.

B Corresponding author. Email: scott.condie@csiro.au

Marine and Freshwater Research 57(6) 569-590 https://doi.org/10.1071/MF06009
Submitted: 9 January 2006  Accepted: 16 May 2006   Published: 31 July 2006

Abstract

The seasonal cycle of physical, chemical, and biological properties of the surface ocean mixed layer in the Australasian region (0 to 50°S, 90 to 180°E) were described on the basis of a range of data products, some of which are described for the first time. They include seasonal fields of temperature, salinity, mixed layer depth, nitrate, phosphate and silicate from the CSIRO Atlas of Regional Seas (CARS), as well as estimates of chlorophyll from SeaWiFS ocean colour data, and a range of supplementary information taken from published studies. Seasonal chlorophyll cycles were interpreted within the context of variability in nutrient concentrations and mixed layer depths. This interpretation included a biogeographical description, which was compared with related regional and global products. Such descriptions provide a baseline for future investigations of interannual variability and long-term trends in mixed layer properties, as well as contributing to the development of spatial frameworks for management of the region’s resources.

Extra keywords: Australia, Indonesian Archipelago, nutrients, productivity.


Acknowledgments

We thank Chris Rathbone and Thomas Moore for processing SeaWiFS data, which are used courtesy of the SeaWiFS Project, NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center and Orbimage Inc. Thanks also to Melissa Tipping, who participated in the early development of the mixed layer depth climatology, and to Peter Rothlisberg, Michele Burford, and Jock Young for their constructive comments on the manuscript.


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