Larval transport in the slope region off north-eastern North America influences recruitment to juvenile habitats for a variety of fishes that inhabit the continental shelf. In this study, collections of larval fishes were made during springtime over the continental slope to provide insights into larval distributions and transport. Ichthyoplankton composition and distribution mirrored the physical complexity of the region. Three larval fish assemblages were defined, each with different water mass distributions. A Gulf Stream assemblage was found predominantly in the Gulf Stream and associated with filaments of discharged Gulf Stream water in the Slope Sea. Larvae of this assemblage originated from oceanic and shelf regions south of Cape Hatteras. Several members of this assemblage utilize habitats in the Middle Atlantic Bight (MAB) as juveniles (Pomatomus saltatrix, Peprilus triacanthus) and other members of the assemblage may share this life cycle (Mugil curema, Sphyraena borealis, Urophycis regia). A Slope Sea assemblage was found in all water masses, and was composed of epi- and mesopelagic fish larvae, as well as larvae of benthic shelf/slope residents. Larvae of one member of this assemblage (U. tenuis) are spawned in the Slope Sea but cross the shelf-slope front and use nearshore habitats for juvenile nurseries. A MAB shelf assemblage was found in MAB shelf water and was composed of larvae that were spawned on the shelf. Some of these species may cross into the Slope Sea before returning to MAB shelf habitats (e.g. Enchelyopus cimbrius, Glyptocephalus cynoglossus). Previous studies have examined the effect of warm-core rings on larval distributions, but this study identifies the importance of smaller-scale features of the MAB shelf/slope front and of filaments associated with Gulf Stream meanders. In combination with these advective processes, the dynamic nature of larval distributions in the Slope Sea appears to be influenced, to varying degrees, by both vertical and horizontal behaviour of larvae and pelagic juveniles themselves.

Springtime ichthyoplankton of the slope region off the north-eastern United States of America : larval assemblages, relation to hydrography and implications for larval transport

At continental margins, energetic deep-ocean eddies can transport shelf water offshore in filaments that wrap around the eddy. One example is that of Gulf Stream warm-core rings interacting with the Mid-Atlantic Bight shelf. The rate at which shelf water is exported in these filaments is a major unknown in regional budgets of volume, heat, and salt. This unknown transport is constrained using a series of idealized primitive equation numerical experiments wherein a surface-intensified anticyclonic eddy interacts with idealized shelf–slope topography. There is no shelfbreak front in these experiments, and shelf water is tracked using a passive tracer. When anticyclones interact with shelf–slope topography, they suffer apparent intrusions of shelf–slope water, resulting in a subsurface maximum in offshore transport. The simulations help construct an approximate model for the filament of exported water that originates inshore of any given isobath. This model is then used to derive an expression for th...

Offshore Transport of Shelf Water by Deep-Ocean Eddies

[1] High-resolution hydrographic measurements collected along the southern edge of Georges Bank during March and June–July 1997 focused on characterizing processes that drive fluxes of material between the slope and bank. Wintertime sampling characterized changes driven by a strong storm. A Scotian Shelf crossover event produced a ribbon of anomalously fresh water along the bank's southern flank that was diluted during the storm. Comparison of prestorm and poststorm sections shows that over the bank changes in heat and salt inventories are consistent with those expected solely from local surface fluxes. In deeper waters, advective effects, likely associated with frontal motion and eddies, are clearly important. Summertime surveys resolve the development of a massive intrusion of Gulf Stream-like waters onto the bank. East of the intrusion, a thin extrusion of bank water is drawn outward by the developing ring, exporting fresher water at a rate of about 7 × 104 m3/s. A large-amplitude Gulf Stream meander appears to initiate the extrusion, but it quickly evolves, near the bank edge, into a warm core ring. Ring water intrudes to approximately the 80 m isobath, 40 km inshore from the bank edge. The intrusion process seems analogous to the development of Gulf Stream shingles (a hydrodynamic instability) in the South Atlantic Bight. It appears that, once the intruded water is established on the bank, it remains there and dissipates in place. Although the intrusion is an extremely dramatic event, it is probably not actually a major contributor to shelf edge exchanges over a seasonal time scale.

/pdf/observations-of-storm-induced-mixing-and-gulf-stream-ring-59r13hif9q.pdf

Observations of storm-induced mixing and Gulf Stream Ring incursion over the southern flank of Georges Bank: Winter and summer 1997

Polymerase chain reaction and direct comparison of mitochondrial DNA sequences from a cytochrome b gene fragment were used to identify two morphologically distinct larval types ofXyrichtys, a genus of tropical wrasse (Pisces: Labridae). Both larval types were collected during ichthyoplankton surveys on the Middle Atlantic Bight shelf in the summer of 1988. DNA sequence comparisons indicated that both types were larvae ofXyrichtys novacula (Linnaeus). Back-calculated birthdate distributions for those larvae collected on the Middle Atlantic Bight shelf demonstrated that the two larval types formed two distinct cohorts indicating a biological difference. The two distinct larval types may be a consequence of an ecophenotypic effect, or they may represent offspring from genetically distinct populations. These results emphasize that important biological and oceanographic information can be gained through the use of the polymerase chain reaction and DNA sequencing for larval identificaiton.

/pdf/biological-and-oceanographic-insights-from-larval-labrid-kb7656kbvs.pdf

Biological and oceanographic insights from larval labrid (Pisces: Labridae) identification using mtDNA sequences

Long-Term Moored Array Measurements of Currents and Hydrography over Georges Bank: 1994-1999

Measurements of water properties in the Great South Channel (GSC) made on 35 surveys between 1977 and 1985 indicate an intrusion of high salinity water in the autumn of most years. The intrusion represents an influx of slope water. It is most evident near bottom, but high salinity values are found throughout the water column. In some years the intrusion can be traced through the channel to the north side of Georges Bank. Larvae of offshore, warm-water fish species found in the high salinity intrusion support reports that the presence of these larvae is associated with an influx of slope water through the channel. The influx is likely to be associated with the seasonal shelfward movement of the shelf/slope front during the autumn. While the extent of the influx may be modified by Gulf Stream rings located south of the channel region, the phenomenon does not appear to be caused by rings. The influx of slope water across the shelf and to GSC suggests a seasonal reduction in the transport of Georges Bank water westward past Nantucket Shoals.

/pdf/slope-water-intrusion-to-the-great-south-channel-during-53fuabmul1.pdf

M Pastuszak

Papers

Slope Water Intrusion to the Great South Channel During Autumn, 1977-85