Kim, H.-J., A. J. Miller, J. McGowan and M. Carter, 2009:
Coastal phytoplankton blooms in the Southern California Bight.
Progress in Oceanography, 82, 137-147.
Abstract.
Surface chlorophyll (CHL) measured at the Scripps Pier in the Southern California Bight
(SCB) for eighteen years (1983 - 2000) reveals that the spring bloom occurs with irregular timing
and intensity each year, unlike sea-surface temperature (SST), which is dominated by a regular
seasonal cycle. In the 1990's, the spring bloom occurred earlier in the year and with larger
amplitudes compared to those of the 1980's. Seasonal anomalies of the Pier CHL have no
significant correlation with local winds, local SST, or upwelling index, which implies that classical
coastal upwelling is not directly responsible for driving chlorophyll variations in nearshore SCB.
The annual mean Pier CHL exhibits an increasing trend, whereas the Pier SST has no evident
concomitant trend during the CHL observation period. The interannual variation of the Pier CHL is
not correlated with tropical El Nino or La Nina conditions over the entire observing period. However,
the Pier CHL was significantly influenced by El Nino/Southern Oscillation during the 1997/98 El
Nino and 1998/99 La Nina transition period. The Pier CHL is highly coherent at long periods (3-7
years) with nearby offshore in situ surface CHL at the CalCOFI (California Cooperative Fisheries
Investigations) station 93.27.
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