Influence of the Nazaré Canyon, central Portuguese margin, on late winter coccolithophore assemblages

This paper presents a first attempt to characterize coccolithophore assemblages occurring in the context of an active submarine canyon. Coccolithophores from the upper-middle sections of the Nazaré Canyon (central Portuguese margin) – one of the largest canyons of the European continental margin – were investigated during a late winter period (9–12 March 2010). Species distributions were analyzed in a multiparameter environmental context (temperature, salinity, turbidity, Chl-a and nutrient concentrations). Monthly averaged surface water Chl-a concentrations between 2006 and 2011 assessed from satellite data are also presented, as a framework for interpreting spatial and temporal distribution of phytoplankton in the Nazaré Canyon. The Nazaré Canyon was observed to act as a conduit for advection of relatively nutrient-poor oceanic waters of ENACWst origin into nearshore areas of the continental shelf (less than 10 km off the coast), whilst at the surface a nutrient-rich buoyant plume resulting from intensive coastal runoff prior and during the beginning of the cruise was spreading in oceanward direction. Two distinct coccolithophore assemblages appear representative for the coast to open-ocean gradient: (1) Emiliania huxleyi together with Gephyrocapsa ericsonii and Coronosphaera mediterranea dominated the more productive assemblage present within coastal-neritic surface waters; and (2) Syracosphaera spp. and Ophiaster spp. displayed a higher affinity with open-ocean conditions, and also generally a broader vertical distribution. Local “hotspots” of coccolithophore and phytoplankton biomass potentially associated with perturbations of surface water circulation by the canyon are discussed.