Spatial organization of particle size composition in an eddy–jet system off California

We describe here the results of an interdisciplinary study conducted off the coast of northern and central California during September 1993 in which we deployed an Optical Plankton Counter. This instrument counted and measured particles in the size range between 0.27 and 9.8 mm equivalent spheric diameter (ESD) occurring between the surface and 240 m depth. The survey region was characterized by the presence of the California Current jet and a cyclonic and an anticyclonic eddy. We analyzed the spatial (horizontal and vertical) distribution of planktonic particles and their relation to this hydrodynamic structure. We used specific analytical methods that take into account spatial constraints, i.e. autocorrelation analysis, constrained agglomerative clustering and contiguity constraints permutation analysis of variance. Horizontal spatial organization of particles was revealed at three different spatial scales (5, 18 and 100 km), while vertical patterns were described at a much smaller scale (20 m). We could detect some degree of similarity between particle size category spatial organization and hydrodynamic structure both by size category association independent of current movements and by comparison of dynamically differentiated areas. Five groups of similar size composition were detected that had some relation to the dynamic structure. Four sub-regions were determined a priori by their different hydrodynamic heights. We could describe a variability of particle abundance among these regions, both for total particles and for some size categories. Particles were more abundant inside the cyclonic eddy and less abundant inside the anticyclonic eddy. We also found deep concentration maxima inside the anticyclonic eddy and shallower concentration maxima inside the cyclonic eddy, with particles >2 mm ESD at deeper levels, for both daytime and nighttime sampling. No systematic difference was detected between daytime and nighttime samples in 0–240 m integrated total particle abundance. However, at night particles appeared to be concentrated into three depth strata (10–50, 70–90 and 90–230 m) of different size-abundance composition, while during the day particles were distributed into one shallow (10–50 m) and one deeper stratum (70–240 m). Smaller particles always occupied the most shallow depths