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Upwelling
on the Central California Coast
An introduction to the Sanctuary Integrated Monitoring Network
The Monterey
Bay (California) National Marine Sanctuary is an internationally recognized
location for marine research, resource management, and policy. Over
forty institutions and organizations in the greater Monterey Bay area
are currently conducting research, which includes long-term monitoring
programs that are essential to the further understanding and health of
the marine ecosystem.
The Sanctuary Integrated Monitoring Network (SIMoN)
serves as a focal point to integrate the existing monitoring programs
and to identify gaps in information. SIMoN makes the monitoring data
available to managers, decision makers, the research community, and the
general public. More information on SIMoN can be found at the website:
http://www.mbnms-simon.org.
One of the major studies in the Sanctuary that SIMoN serves is that of
the central coastal upwelling, which typically begins in March and ends
around July. The effects of this seasonal occurrence can not only be
seen in marine organisms such as phytoplankton, zooplankton (Figure
1),
and the fish and marine mammals that feed upon them, but in the weather
as well. The traditional foggy summers on the Central California coast
are attributed to the physical interaction between the warm summer air
and the newly upwelled cold ocean surface waters. As these waters cool
the summer air, moisture collects and forms the coastal fog common to
the Sanctuary.
Scientists
have developed instruments and technology to detect upwelling at the
level of the primary producers. One instrument, the fluorometer, detects
pigments, primarily chlorophyll, that phytoplankton use to perform
photosynthesis. Chlorophyll measurements are used by oceanographers
to determine the level of biological productivity throughout the food
chain. Satellite imagery is used to detect pigmentation of the phytoplankton
which reveals the quantity and distribution of phytoplankton over a
given area of the ocean.
In the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary (Figure
2) a variety of research groups are dedicated to collecting
and analyzing information about the upwelling process. The UC Santa
Cruz Center for Integrated Marine Technologies (CIMT) is collecting
data on wind, primary productivity, krill, ocean temperature, seabirds,
whales, and other components of the upwelling system. This data is
analyzed and integrated to produce an enhanced understanding of the
relationship between primary productivity and higher trophic level
organisms such as fishes, marine mammals, and seabirds.
The Monterey
Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI) also studies coastal upwelling
in the Sanctuary. The Simulations of Coastal Ocean Physics and Ecosystems
(SCOPE) project at MBARI assimilates data from satellites and ocean sensors
to model the interconnected physical, chemical, and biological processes
associated with upwelling. These models will help understand the distribution
of marine mammals, seabirds, and fish during a period of upwelling, and
will help resource management as well as direct future research projects
and observational efforts.
With so many marine organisms utilizing the upwelling
process for food and reproduction, it is important that Monterey Bay National
Marine Sanctuary staff understand the dynamics of this annual process in
order to effectively manage these interconnected resources during this
time of the year. Fortunately, there are programs such as CIMT and SCOPE
that are dedicated to enhancing the Sanctuary's knowledge of this incredible
oceanic phenomenon.
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