how does the north atlantic oscilation affect plankton blooms in the north atlantic?

Answer 1

Not an easy question. I think the jury is still out. I also depends what sort of plankton you are interested in (zooplankton, phytoplankton etc) Not only is the NAO important, but the gulf stream index also has an effect. There is a positive correlation with the abundance of zooplankton and the NOA (+ve for milder & more westerly airflow) index; but potentially a stong negative relatioship between the NOA index and abundance of the copepod Calanus finmarchicus is seen.
Also a positive correlation of copepods numbers with the gulf stream index is seen, and the relationship between the gulf stream index and the NOA index is not clear and I think would be important (bearing in mind the sea temp fluctuates on a longer timescale than the yearly atmospheric heat transfer). Some starting point papers and a website are listed below...

Answer 2

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