The water masses of the east coast of Tasmania: Seasonal and interannual variability and the influence on phytoplankton biomass and productivity

Abstract

The seasonal and interannual variability of the water masses, nutrients, phytoplankton biomass and primary productivity of the waters off the eastern coast of Tasmania are described. The seasonal and interannual variability in the water masses on the east coast could be explained by the varying influence of tropical and subantarctic waters and the presence of the northern edge of the subtropical convergence north-east from Maria Island. The physical oceanography was dominated by mesoscale events and the influence of the two parent water masses was highly episodic. Subtropical water rarely extended as far south as Tasman Island in summer and subantarctic water never extended as far north as Flinders Island. Data from satellite Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) images confirmed the hydrographic data and were used to interpret the seasonal and interannual variability. Interannual variability in maximum summer temperatures at Maria Island was correlated with the southerly extension of subtropical waters and with El Nino/Southern Oscillation events at least until the mid-1970s. There was evidence of a long-term warming at Maria Island and a cyclic fluctuation of 10-15 years in smoothed maximum summer temperatures. The decline in nitrate, and hence the phytoplankton spring bloom, occurred a month earlier inshore than offshore. Long-term data records from the inshore station at Maria Island showed strong interannual changes in the timing of the nitrate decline. The timing of the spring bloom varied from year to year by as much as 4 months. The seasonal cycle of phytoplankton biomass in 1984 and 1985 showed spring (October) and autumnal (April) blooms, with an early summer bloom in December. Low chlorophyll levels in February and March coincided with the influence of subtropical water. The seasonal cycle of phytoplankton biomass was therefore a complex function of seasonal and episodic events. Primary productivity data from the spring of 1984 showed low productivity on the west coast of Tasmania but high productivity on the east coast around Maria Island and the islands in Bass Strait.