Windrows of Sargassum seaweed and sea surface slicks hint at sub-mesoscale variability in surface ocean properties in the Sargasso Sea. The impact of 1 to 10-kilometer scale patterns of ocean circulation on plankton productivity, community structure, and carbon export in the ocean is the subject of a NASA funded study, now in the analysis phase, led by Dr. Dave Siegel, ERI. Also part of the study are Dr. Norm Nelson and Erik Fields, ERI, Drs. Ken Buessler and Rachel Stanley, WHOI, and Dr. Mike Lomas of the Bigelow Laboratory.
Photo Credit: Norm Nelson, ERI
