Production regimes in four Eastern Boundary Current systems

High productivity (maxima ∼3 g C m−2 day−1) of the Eastern Boundary Currents (EBCs), i.e. the California, Peru-Humboldt, Canary and Benguela Currents, is driven by a combination of local forcing and large-scale circulation. The characteristics of the deep water brought to the surface by upwelling favorable winds depend on the large-scale circulation patterns. Here we use a new hydrographic and nutrient climatology together with satellite measurements of the wind vector, sea-surface temperature (SST), chlorophyll concentration, and primary production modeled from ocean color to quantify the meridional and seasonal patterns of upwelling dynamics and biological response. The unprecedented combination of data sets allows us to describe objectively the variability for small regions within each current and to characterize the governing factors for biological production. The temporal and spatial environmental variability was due in most regions to large-scale circulation, alone or in combination with offshore transport (local forcing). The observed meridional and seasonal patterns of biomass and primary production were most highly correlated to components representing large-scale circulation. The biomass sustained by a given nutrient concentration in the Atlantic EBCs was twice as large as that of the Pacific EBCs. This apparent greater efficiency may be due to availability of iron, physical retention, or differences in planktonic community structure.