Causes and consequences of spring phytoplankton blooms in Otsuchi Bay, Japan

A time-dependent, three-dimensional model simulates some important biological and physical processes in Otsuchi Bay in the northern part of Japan during the spring bloom in 1990. The spatial distribution of chlorophyll and primary productivity in the model is determined primarily by light condition and secondarily by the strength of vertical advection which is caused by a compensated current of strong westerly wind induced by the surface current. Nutrients are not the limiting factors during the spring bloom and zooplankton does not have an important influence on chlorophyll levels.