Jef Huisman1, Paul van Oostveen2, Franz J. Weissing2
1Biological Sciences, Stanford University Stanford, California 94305-5020
2Department of Genetics, University of Groningen, P.O. Box 14, 9750 AA HAREN, The Netherlands
Tóm tắt
A turbulent diffusion model shows that there are two different mechanisms for the development of phytoplankton blooms. One of these mechanisms works in well‐mixed environments and corresponds to the classical critical depth theory. The other mechanism is based on the rate of turbulent mixing. If turbulent mixing is less than a critical turbulence, phytoplankton growth rates exceed the vertical mixing rates, and a bloom develops irrespective of the depth of the upper water layer. These results demonstrate that phytoplankton blooms can develop in the absence of vertical water‐column stratification.
