Multi-platform remote sensing of new production in central California during the 1997–1998 El Niño

The effects of the 1997–1999 El Niño/La Nina event on new primary production are examined using a physiologically based algorithm of nitrate uptake by phytoplankton for the Monterey Bay, California region. Primary inputs for the model come from temperature and phytoplankton biomass (chlorophyll) using both moorings and satellite observations, providing estimates of new production with higher spatial and temporal resolution as compared to traditional shipboard measurements. We observed significant decrease in new production values during the El Niño event, and a corresponding enhancement during La Niña as compared to the values during the El Niño period. The observed interannual changes in new production varied as a function of distance from shore, consistent with the hypothesis that productivity offshore from the upwelling center was impacted because of the suppression of the thermocline and nitracline associated with the ENSO event. There was less evidence for a significant downstream trend in new production values, suggesting that distance from shore is the predominant variable in spatial estimates of new production.