Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Enso And Variability Of The Antarctic Peninsula Pelagic Marine Ecosystem, Valerie J. Loeb, Eileen E. Hofmann, John M. Klinck, Osmund Holm-Hansen, Warren B. White

CCPO Publications

The West Antarctic Peninsula region is an important source of Antarctic krill (Euphausia superba) in the Southern Ocean. From 1980-2004 abundance and concentration of phytoplankton and zooplankton, krill reproductive and recruitment success and seasonal sea ice extent here were significantly correlated with the atmospheric Southern Oscillation Index and exhibited three- to five-year frequencies characteristic of El Nino-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) variability. This linkage was associated with movements of the Southern Antarctic Circumpolar Current Front and Boundary, a changing influence of Antarctic Circumpolar Current and Weddell Sea waters, and eastward versus westward flow and mixing processes that are consistent with forcing by …