2020

L. M. Bolaños, L. Karp-Boss, C.J. Choi, A.Z. Worden, J.R. Graff, N. Haëntjens, A.P. Chase, A. Della Penna, P. Gaube, F. Morison, S. Menden-Deuer, T.K. Westberry, R.T. O’Malley, E.S. Boss, M.J. Behrenfeld, and S. J. Giovannoni
Small phytoplankton dominate western North Atlantic biomass
The ISME Journal, 14, 1663–1674, 2020, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41396-020-0636-0
Summary: We compared the community composition of phytoplankton in the subpolar and subtropical NW Atlantic in winter and spring. We were very surprised to find that diverse, small phytoplankton taxa are unexpectedly common in the western North Atlantic and that regional influences play a large role in modulating community transitions during the seasonal progression of blooms.

J.A. Schulien, A. Della Penna, P. Gaube, A.P. Chase, N. Haëntjens, J.R. Graff, J.W. Hair, C.A. Hostetler, A.J. Scarino, E.S. Boss, L. and Karp-Boss
Shifts in Phytoplankton Community Structure Across an Anticyclonic Eddy Revealed From High Spectral Resolution Lidar Scattering Measurements
Frontiers in Marine Science, 7, p.493, 2020, https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2020.00493
Summary: This study demonstrates that the HSRL is able to detect changes in phytoplankton community composition. We present changes in airborne high spectral resolution lidar (HSRL) measurements of scattering, depolarization, and attenuation that coincided with a shift in phytoplankton community composition measured in-situ across an anticyclonic eddy in the North Atlantic.

A. Della Penna and P. Gaube
Mesoscale eddies structure mesopelagic communities
Frontiers In Marine Science 7.454, 2020 https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2020.00454
Summary: We used a shipboard scientific echosounder transmitting at 38 kHz to observe the distribution of acoustic backscattering in 24 locations in the energetic mesoscale eddy field of the northwestern Atlantic. We found that the sampled anticyclonic eddies are characterized by intense acoustic backscattering in the mesopelagic and changes in the intensity of acoustic backscattering layers match gradients of surface properties. These results suggest that anticyclonic eddies in the NW Atlantic impact the distribution of mesopelagic micronekton and may have the potential to locally enhance or structure spatially mesopelagic communities.

2019

A. Della Penna and P. Gaube
Overview of (Sub) mesoscale Ocean Dynamics for the NAAMES Field Program
Frontiers In Marine Science 6.384, 2019 https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2019.00384
Summary: This data report contains a description of the eddy properties of all the stations sampled during the North Atlantic Aerosols and Ecosystems Study (NAAMES). We used altimetry and a combination of ADCP and drifter trajectories to estimate whether each station was located within an eddy (core or periphery) or on a front and a Lagrangian approach to identify the origin of the sampled water parcels.

Braun C. D., P. Gaube, T. H. Sinclair-Taylor, G. B. Skomal, S. R. Thorrold. 2019. Mesoscale eddies release pelagic sharks from thermal constraints to foraging in the ocean twilight zone. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences; August 27, 2019 116 (35) 17187-17192 https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1903067116

Braun C. D., P. Gaube, P. Afonso, J. Fontes, G. B. Skomal, S. R. Thorrold. 2019. Assimilating electronic tagging, oceanographic modeling, and fisheries data to estimate movements and connectivity of swordfish in the North Atlantic. ICES Journal of Marine Science, Volume 76, Issue 7, December 2019, Pages 2305–2317, https://doi.org/10.1093/icesjms/fsz106

N. Haëntjens, A. Della Penna, N. Briggs, L. Karp‐Boss, P. Gaube, H. Claustre, and E.S. Boss.
Detecting mesopelagic organisms using biogeochemical‐Argo floats
Geophysical Research Letters. 28;47(6):e2019GL086088, 2020, https://doi.org/10.1029/2019GL086088
Summary: In this study, we combine echosounder, underwater vision profiler and floats observations to show that migrating organisms can be attracted to emitted light by sensors mounted on profiling floats and produce anomalous signals that can be used to suggest their presence. This method will help study those animals over extended time scales and in remote areas not easily accessible by ships.

M. J. Behrenfeld, P. Gaube, A. Della Penna, R. T. O’Malley, W. J. Burt, Y. Hu, P. S. Bontempi, D.K. Steinberg, E. S. Boss, D. A.Siegel, and C. Hostetler.
Global satellite-observed daily vertical migrations of ocean animals
Nature 576, no. 7786: 257-261, 2019, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-019-1796-9
Summary: We used observations from a satellite-mounted light-detection-and-ranging (lidar) instrument to describe global distributions of an optical signal from DVM animals that arrive in the surface ocean at night. Our findings reveal that these animals generally constitute a greater fraction of total plankton abundance in the clear subtropical gyres, consistent with the idea that the avoidance of visual predators is an important life strategy in these regions and that total biomass is higher in more productive regions in which the availability of food is increased. These results and approaches provide a detailed view of DVM activities globally and a path for refining the quantification of their biogeochemical importance.

M.C. Arostegui, C.D. Braun, and P. Gaube
Movement and thermal niche of the first satellite-tagged Mediterranean spearfish (Tetrapturus belone)
Fisheries Oceanography 28: 327-333, 2019 https://doi.org/10.1111/fog.12413
Summary: We assessed the movement ecology and thermal niche of the first Mediterranean spearfish ever outfitted with a pop-up satellite archival transmitting tag. We found a diel activity pattern comprised of daytime vertical movement and nighttime near-surface residency, as well as evidence for vertical habitat compression due to temperature.

M.C. Arostegui, P. Gaube, and C.D. Braun
Movement ecology and stenothermy of shortbill spearfish (Tetrapturus angustirostris)
Fisheries Research 215: 21-26, 2019 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fishres.2019.03.005
Summary: We assessed the movement ecology and thermal niche of the first shortbill spearfishes ever outfitted with pop-up satellite archival transmitting tags. We found nocturnal vertical activity regardless of lunar phase, opposite of other billfishes, as well as a stenothermal mixed layer distribution.

2018

P. Gaube, Camrin D. Braun, Gareth L. Lawson, Dennis J. McGillicuddy Jr, Alice Della Penna, Gregory B. Skomal, Chris Fischer & Simon R. Thorrold
Mesoscale eddies influence the movements of mature female white sharks in the Gulf Stream and Sargasso Sea.
Nature Scientific Reports Volume 8, Article number: 7363 (2018) , 2017 doi: 10.1016/j.dsr.2017.02.006   [PDF]
Summary: …

2017

P. Gaube and D.J. McGillicuddy, Jr.
The Influence of Gulf Stream Eddies and Meanders on Near-Surface Chlorophyll.
Deep Sea Research I, 2017 doi: 10.1016/j.dsr.2017.02.006   [PDF]
Summary: The trends in chlorophyll (CHL) in both cyclonic and anticyclonic eddies forming north and south of the Gulf Stream are analyzed from satellite observations and physical – biological simulations. While cyclonic eddies present a surplus of CHL compared to their ambient south of the Gulf Stream, anticyclones present a deficit on its northern side. This deficit is seen to reduce over time and model simulation highlight the combination of surface stress and surface current generating Ekman pumping, and hence upwelling, as a mechanism responsible for the observed increase in CHL.

P. Gaube, C. Barcelo, D.J. McGillicuddy, Jr, A. Domingo, P. Miller, B. Giffoni, N. Marcovaldi, and Y. Swimmer
The Use of Mesoscale Eddies by Juvenile Loggerhead Sea Turtles (Caretta carreta) in the Southwestern Atlantic.
Plos One, 2017 doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0172839   [PDF]
Summary: The trajectories of young loggerhead sea turtles is compared to the location of eddies in the Brazil-Malvinas confluence zone east of Argentina and Uruguay in the southwestern Atlantic Ocean. The marine animals are found to prefer anticyclonic eddies by both increasing their presence in their interior and slowing their swimming speeds, possibly to improve their chance of finding food.

E.A. Mason, A. Pascual, P. Gaube, S. Ruiz, J.L. Pelegri, and A. Delepoulle
Subregional characterization of mesoscale eddies across the Brazil-Malvinas Confluence.
Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans, 2017 doi:10.1002/2016JC012611 [PDF]
Summary: Mesoscale eddies in the Brazil-Malvinas region of the Southwestern Atlantic are described in the analysis of sea surface height and hydrographic profiles collected by Argo floats.

2015

H. Song, J. Marshall, P. Gaube, and D.J. McGillicuddy, Jr.
Anomalous Anthropogenic Gas Uptake by Mesoscale Eddies in the Southern Ocean
Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans, 2015 doi:10.1002/2014JC010292   [PDF]
Summary: Mesoscale eddies can modulate air-sea fluxes of heat and gases by featuring different water properties than their surroundings. Modeling of Chlorofluorocarbon-11 (CFC-11) in an eddy-resolving global model is used to understand the role of eddies in ventilating the ocean by modifying mixed layer depth dynamics. In the Southern Ocean, anticyclonic, warm core eddies decrease the partial pressure of CFC-11 (pCFC-11) in the mixed layer, thereby increasing its uptake from the atmosphere. Conversely, cyclonic, cold core eddies increase pCFC-11 leading to a decrease in atmospheric uptake.

P. Gaube, D.B. Chelton, R.M. Samelson, M.G. Schlax, and L.W. O’Neill
Satellite Observations of Mesoscale Eddy-Induced Ekman Pumping
Journal of Physical Oceanography, 2015 doi:10.1175/JPO-D-14-0032.1 [PDF]
Summary: Three mechanisms are known to cause Ekman pumping inside eddies: the interaction between surface wind stress and ocean current, the interaction between surface stress and surface current vorticity gradient, and the curl of stress generated by the SST anomalies that eddies represent compared to their ambient. In most regions Ekman pumping resulting from wind and surface current interactions dominate compared to that generated by SST anomalies. Near western boundary currents and the Antarctic Circumpolar Current however, all three mechanisms are of similar contribution to the observed Ekman pumping velocities.

2014

P. Gaube, D.J. McGillicuddy Jr., D.B. Chelton, M.J. Behrenfeld and P. G. Strutton
Regional Variations in the Influence of Mesoscale Eddies on Near-Surface Chlorophyll
Journal of Geophysical Research – Oceans, 2014 doi:10.1002/2014JC010111 [PDF]
Summary: A global overview of eddies influence on chlorophyll (CHL) is provided by analyzing satellite measurement of ocean color. In western boundary current regions cyclonic eddies feature a positive CHL anomaly and conversely for anticyclones as high- or low-CHL water is respectively trapped during eddy formation. In the southern Indian Ocean however, cyclonic eddies displayed a negative CHL anomaly and anticyclone displayed a positive CHL anomaly due to the eddy-induced change in stratification.

2013

P. Gaube, D. B. Chelton, P. G. Strutton, and M.J. Behrenfeld
Satellite Observations of Chlorophyll, Phytoplankton Biomass and Ekman Pumping in Nonlinear Mesoscale Eddies
Journal of Geophysical Research – Oceans, 2013 doi:10.1002/2013JC009027 [PDF]
Summary: From nine years of satellite data including sea surface height, wind stress, and chlorophyll-a concentration, the role of eddy-induced Ekman pumping is emphasized as a mechanism involved in the maintenance of the positive chlorophyll anomalies found in anticyclones in the southern Indian Ocean.

2012

P. Gaube
Satellite Observations of the Influence of Mesoscale Ocean Eddies on Near-Surface Temperature, Phytoplankton and Surface Stress
Ph.D Thesis (Oregon State University), 2012 [PDF]

2011

D. B. Chelton, P. Gaube, M. G. Schlax, J. J. Early, and R. M. Samelson
The Influence of Nonlinear Mesoscale Eddies on Near-Surface Chlorophyll
Science, 2011 doi:10.1126/science.1208897 [PDF]
Summary: Ten years of satellite measurements of sea surface height and ocean color reveal a strong correlation between trends in chlorophyll concentration and the presence of eddies. On time scales longer than two weeks it was shown that the advection of chlorophyll by horizontal velocities associated with eddies was the predominant mechanism responsible for chlorophyll changes.

Pre-2011

L.A. Hurtado, M. Freey, P. Gaube, and T.A. Markow
Geographical Subdivision, Demographic History And Gene Flow In Two Sympatric Species Of Intertidal Snails, Nerita Funiculata and Nerita Scabricosta, from The Tropical Eastern Pacific
Marine Biology, 2007 [PDF]