Uptake of atmospheric carbon dioxide in Arctic shelf seas: evaluation of the relative importance of processes that influence pCO2 in water transported over the Bering–Chukchi Sea shelf

The uptake of atmospheric carbon dioxide in the water transported over the Bering–Chukchi shelves has been assessed from the change in carbon-related chemical constituents. The calculated uptake of atmospheric CO₂ from the time that the water enters the Bering Sea shelf until it reaches the northern Chukchi Sea shelf slope (1 year) was estimated to be 86±22 g C m⁻² in the upper 100 m. Combining the average uptake per m³ with a volume flow of 0.83×10⁶ m³ s⁻¹ through the Bering Strait yields a flux of 22×10¹² g C year⁻¹. We have also estimated the relative contribution from cooling, biology, freshening, CaCO₃ dissolution, and denitrification for the modification of the seawater pCO₂ over the shelf. The latter three had negligible impact on pCO₂ compared to biology and cooling. Biology was found to be almost twice as important as cooling for lowering the pCO₂ in the water on the Bering–Chukchi shelves. Those results were compared with earlier surveys made in the Barents Sea, where the uptake of atmospheric CO₂ was about half that estimated in the Bering–Chukchi Seas. Cooling and biology were of nearly equal significance in the Barents Sea in driving the flux of CO₂ into the ocean. The differences between the two regions are discussed. The loss of inorganic carbon due to primary production was estimated from the change in phosphate concentration in the water column. A larger loss of nitrate relative to phosphate compared to the classical ΔN/ΔP ratio of 16 was found. This excess loss was about 30% of the initial nitrate concentration and could possibly be explained by denitrification in the sediment of the Bering and Chukchi Seas.     

Short-term variability of fCO2 in seawater and air–sea CO2 fluxes in a coastal upwelling system (Ría de Vigo, NW Spain)

Coastal upwelling systems are regions with highly variable physical processes and very high rates of primary production and very little is known about the effect of these factors on the short-term variations of CO₂ fugacity in seawater (fCO₂^w). This paper presents the effect of short-term variability (<1 week) of upwelling–downwelling events on CO₂ fugacity in seawater (fCO₂^w), oxygen, temperature and salinity fields in the Ría de Vigo (a coastal upwelling ecosystem). The magnitude of fCO₂^w values is physically and biologically modulated and ranges from 285 μatm in July to 615 μatm in October. There is a sharp gradient in fCO₂^w between the inner and the outer zone of the Ría during almost all the sampling dates, with a landward increase in fCO₂^w.CO₂ fluxes calculated from local wind speed and air–sea fCO₂ differences indicate that the inner zone is a sink for atmospheric CO₂ in December only (−0.30 mmol m⁻² day⁻¹). The middle zone absorbs CO₂ in December and July (−0.05 and −0.27 mmol·m⁻² day⁻¹, respectively). The oceanic zone only emits CO₂ in October (0.36 mmol·m⁻² day⁻¹) and absorbs at the highest rate in December (−1.53 mmol·m⁻² day⁻¹).     

fCO2 variability at the CARIACO tropical coastal upwelling time series station

Monthly seawater pH and alkalinity measurements were collected between January 1996 and December 2000 at 10°30′N, 64°40′W as part of the CARIACO (CArbon Retention In A Colored Ocean) oceanographic time series. One key objective of CARIACO is to study temporal variability in Total CO₂ (TCO₂) concentrations and CO₂ fugacity (fCO₂) at this tropical coastal wind-driven upwelling site. Between 1996 and 2000, the difference between atmospheric and surface ocean CO₂ concentrations ranged from about − 64.3 to + 62.3 μatm. Physical and biochemical factors, specifically upwelling, temperature, primary production, and TCO₂ concentrations interacted to control temporal variations in fCO₂. Air–sea CO₂ fluxes were typically depressed (0 to + 10 mmol C m^{− 2} day^{− 1}) in the first few months of the year during upwelling. Fluxes were higher during June–November (+ 10 to 20 mmol C m^{− 2} day^{− 1}). Fluxes were generally independent of the slight changes in salinity normally seen at the station, but low positive flux values were seen in the second half of 1999 during a period of anomalously heavy rains and land-derived runoff. During the 5 years of monthly data examined, only two episodes of negative air–sea CO₂ flux were observed. These occurred during short but intense upwelling events in March 1997 (−10 mmol C m^{− 2} day^{− 1}) and March 1998 (− 50 mmol C m^{− 2} day^{− 1}). Therefore, the Cariaco Basin generally acted as a source of CO₂ to the atmosphere in spite of primary productivity in excess of between 300 and 600 g C m^{− 2} year^{− 1}.     

北冰洋浮冰站近地层参数的观测估算

利用2008年8月20～27日我国第3次北极考察队在85°N附近设立的冰站上进行的湍流通量、辐射观测所获取的相关资料,采用涡动相关法对夏季北冰洋浮冰下垫面的近地层参数进行了估算.结果显示,观测期间浮冰区冰雪面的平均感热、潜热和净辐射通量分别是0.2 W/m2,1.2 W/m2和9.9 W/m2,表明下垫面获得的大部分热...     

Seasonal and interannual variability of the air–sea CO2 flux in the Atlantic sector of the Barents Sea

The seasonal and interannual variability of the air–sea CO₂ flux (F) in the Atlantic sector of the Barents Sea have been investigated. Data for seawater fugacity of CO₂ (fCO₂^sw) acquired during five cruises in the region were used to identify and validate an empirical procedure to compute fCO₂^sw from phosphate (PO₄), seawater temperature (T), and salinity (S). This procedure was then applied to time series data of T, S, and PO₄ collected in the Barents Sea Opening during the period 1990–1999, and the resulting fCO₂^sw estimates were combined with data for the atmospheric mole fraction of CO₂, sea level pressure, and wind speed to evaluate F.The results show that the Atlantic sector of the Barents Sea is an annual sink of atmospheric CO₂. The monthly mean uptake increases nearly monotonically from 0.101 mol C m^− 2 in midwinter to 0.656 mol C m^− 2 in midfall before it gradually decreases to the winter value. Interannual variability in the monthly mean flux was evaluated for the winter, summer, and fall seasons and was found to be ± 0.071 mol C m^− 2 month^− 1. The variability is controlled mainly through combined variation of fCO₂^sw and wind speed. The annual mean uptake of atmospheric CO₂ in the region was estimated to 4.27 ± 0.68 mol C m^− 2.     

Particulate organic carbon fluxes to the ocean interior and factors controlling the biological pump: A synthesis of global sediment trap programs since 1983

Particulate organic carbon (POC) is vertically transported to the oceanic interior by aggregates and their ballasts, mainly CaCO₃ and biogenic opal, with a smaller role for lithogenic aerosols through the mesopelagic zone. Diel migrating zooplankton communities effect vertical transport and remineralization of POC in the upper layers of the ocean. Below 1.5 km, the presence of zooplankton is reduced and thus the aggregates travel mainly by gravitational transport. We normalized the fluxes of POC, CaCO₃, and biogenic opal from data published on samples collected at 134 globally distributed, bottom-tethered, time-series sediment trap (TS-trap) stations to annual mole fluxes at the mesopelagic/bathypelagic boundary (m/b) at 2 km and defined them as F_m/bC_org, F_m/bC_inorg, and F_m/bSi_bio. Using this global data set, we investigated (1) the geographic contrasts of POC export at m/b and (2) the supply rate of ∑CO₂ to the world mesopelagic water column. F_m/bC_org varies from 25 (Pacific Warm Pool) to 605 (divergent Arabian Sea) mmolC m⁻² yr⁻¹; F_m/bC_inorg varies from >8 (high latitude Polar Oceans) or 15 (Pacific Warm Pool) to 459 (divergent Arabian Sea) mmolC m⁻² yr⁻¹; and F_m/bSi_bio, the most spatially/temporally variable flux, ranges from 6 (North Atlantic Drift) to 1118 (Pacific Subarctic Gyre) mmolSi m⁻² yr⁻¹. The oceanic region exhibiting the highest POC flux over a significantly large region is the area of the North Pacific Boreal Gyres where the average F_m/bC_org = 213, F_m/bC_inorg = 126, and F_m/bSi_bio = 578 mmol m⁻² yr⁻¹. F_m/bC_org and F_m/bC_inorg are particularly high in large upwelling margins, including the divergent Arabian Sea and off Cape Verde. One of the data sets showing the lowest flux over a significant region/basin is F_m/bC_org = 39, F_m/bC_inorg = 69, and F_m/bSi_bio = 22 mmol m⁻² yr⁻¹ in the North Pacific subtropical/tropical gyres; Pan-Atlantic average fluxes are similar except F_m/bSi_bio fluxes are even lower. Where C_org/C_inorg and Si_bio/C_inorg are <1 defines the “Carbonate Ocean”, and where these ratios are ?1 defines the “Silica Ocean”. The Carbonate Ocean occupies about 80% of the present world pelagic ocean between the two major oceanographic fronts, the North Pacific Polar Front and the Antarctic Polar Front, and the Silica Ocean is found on the polar sides of these fronts. The total global annual fluxes of F_m/bC_org, F_m/bC_inorg, and F_m/bSi_bio at m/b calculated by parameterizations of the export flux data from 134 stations are surprisingly similar; 36.2, 33.8, and 34.6 teramol yr⁻¹ (120, 112, and 114 mmol m⁻² yr⁻¹), respectively, resulting in a near uniform binary ratio between the above three elements of about one. The global ternary % ratios estimated from 152 TS-trap samples of the three elements are 35:32:33. From our global F_m/bC_org and a published model estimate of the global export production, we estimate the regeneration rate of CO₂ through the mesopelagic zone by the biological pump is 441 teramolC yr⁻¹. Based on our global F_m/bC_inorg and recently estimated global primary production of PIC, 36-86 teramolC yr⁻¹ of PIC is assumed to be dissolved within the upper 2 km of the water column.     

亚热带珊瑚礁海域枯水季pCO2的分布特征及CO2汇源转换机制-以深圳杨梅坑海域为例

由于存在极高的初级生产和高效的碳代谢速率, 珊瑚礁海域二氧化碳(CO₂)的汇/源属性仍存有争议。为明晰中国典型珊瑚礁海域CO₂的汇源属性及驱动因素, 作者基于2022年11月(秋季)和2023年2月(冬季)在深圳杨梅坑海域的调查结果并结合室内培养实验所获得的数据, 探究了枯水季节典型亚热带珊瑚礁海水二氧化碳分压(pCO₂)的分布特征及主要控制机制。结果表明, 调查期间pCO₂的变化较大, 其范围为233.3~465.3 μatm。秋季表现为大气CO₂的汇, CO₂吸收通量为1.66±0.41 mmol C/(m²/d);冬季表现为大气CO₂的弱源, 其释放通量为0.36±0.17 mmol C/(m²/d)。调查期间(枯水季)杨梅坑海域受淡水输入的影响较小, 季节性温度影响下的生物过程是驱动pCO₂变化的关键因素, 其贡献pCO₂总变化量的73.6%(表层)和66.5%(底层)。其中, 浮游植物光合作用的季节差异是导致海水CO₂汇源转变的主要成因, 而微生物呼吸作用的影响甚微。相比较, 物理过程(CO₂海-气交换、温度和盐度变化)对pCO₂的影响相对较小, 其作用结果远低于生物过程。此外, 珊瑚的代谢活动对杨梅坑局部海域pCO₂分布产生一定影响, 造成礁区pCO₂值高于非礁区。因此, 海气CO₂通量估算中不能忽视局部海域珊瑚代谢作用的影响。     

春、秋季台湾海峡海-气CO2通量及其影响因素

于2014年的5月(春季)和9月(秋季)在台湾海峡及其邻近南海和东海海域,采用水气平衡法进行了2个航次的海表和大气pCO_2连续走航观测,同时获取了海表温度、海表盐度、风速及气压等数据,并采用海-气CO_2分压差减法估算了海-气CO_2通量.结果显示,春、秋2个航次平均海表pCO_2分别为387±16μatm和408±18μatm.温度是影响台湾海峡及其邻近海域海表pCO_2的主控因子,水团混合和其他因素等也对海表pCO_2有一定影响.2014年春、秋季节,对研究区域的海-气CO_2释放通量的估算结果分别为0.11±1.60 mmol/(m2·d)和2.51±1.10 mmol/(m2·d).台湾海峡海表pCO_2既存在显著的季节变化,又存在较大的空间差异.     

Linking phytoplankton community size composition with temperature, plankton food web structure and sea-air CO2 flux

Data collected at open water stations (depth>400 m) in all major ocean basins in 2006-2008 are used to examine the relationship between the size structure of the phytoplankton community (determined by size fractionated chlorophyll filtration), temperature and inorganic nutrient availability. A significant relationship (p<0.0005) was found between community size structure and temperature, with the importance of large cells in the community decreasing with increase in temperature. Although weaker than the temperature relationship, significant relationships were also noted between community cell size and DIN (nitrate, nitrite and ammonium: p=0.034) and phosphate (p=0.031) concentrations. When the data were divided into two groups of equal size, representing the samples with the highest and lowest DIN/phosphate concentrations, respectively, no difference could be identified between the slopes of the lines representing the relationship between size structure and temperature. There was, however, a difference in the intercepts between the two groups. If the relationship between size and temperature was only a response to nutrient availability, we would expect that the response would be the strongest in the groups with the lowest nutrient concentrations. These results suggest that, in addition to a nutrient effect, temperature may also directly influence the size structure of phytoplankton communities. The size structure of the phytoplankton community in this study correlated to the magnitude of primary production, export production (determined after Laws et al., 2000) and integrated water column chlorophyll. Significant relationships were also found between mesozooplankton production (determined using the proxy of calanoid+cyclopoid nauplii abundance as a percentage of the total number of these copepods) and both temperature and phytoplankton size, with production being the lowest in the warmest waters where phytoplankton were the smallest. In the North Atlantic, export production and community size structure appear to be related to ocean uptake of CO₂ from the atmosphere. The reported results suggest that ocean warming may directly alter plankton community structure. This, in turn, may alter the structure of marine food webs and impact the performance of the open ocean as a natural carbon sink.     

Air-sea CO<Subscript>2</Subscript> flux by eddy covariance technique in the equatorial Indian Ocean

Direct measurements of the air-sea CO₂ flux by the eddy covariance technique were carried out in the equatorial Indian Ocean. The turbulent flux observation system was installed at the top of the foremast of the R/V MIRAI, thus minimizing dynamical and thermal effects of the ship body. During the turbulent flux runs around the two stations, the vessel was steered into the wind at constant speed. The power spectra of the temperature or water vapor density fluctuations followed the Kolmogorov −5/3 power law, although that of the CO₂ density fluctuation showed white noise in the high frequency range. However, the cospectrum of the vertical wind velocity and CO₂ density was well matched with those of the vertical velocity and temperature or water vapor density in this frequency range, and the CO₂ white noise did not influence the CO₂ flux. The raw CO₂ fluxes due to the turbulent transport showed a sink from the air to the ocean, and had almost the same value as the source CO₂ fluxes due to the mean vertical flow, corrected by the sensible and latent heat fluxes (called the Webb correction). The total CO₂ fluxes including the Webb correction terms showed a source from the ocean to the air, and were larger than the bulk CO₂ fluxes estimated using the gas transfer velocity by mass balance techniques.     

Satellite observations of the partial pressure of carbon dioxide in the surface water of the Huanghai Sea and the Bohai Sea

Based on 5 831 continuous in situ measurements of the partial pressure of carbon dioxide on the sea surface p(CO2),related parameters of the sea surface temperature(SST) and chlorophyll-a(Chl a) concentration in 2010 winter,spring and summer of the Huanghai Sea and the Bohai Sea,the inherent relations among them are investigated preliminarily.This study reveals that the seasonal variability of SST and Chl a concentration has a significant influence on p(CO2).The authors have proposed a new algorithm to estimate p(CO2) from SST and Chl a concentration measurements.Compared with the vessel data,the root mean square error(RMSE) of p(CO2) retrieved by using the new model is 13.45 μatm(1atm=101.325 kPa) and the relative error is less than 4%.Then,SST and Chl a concentration data observed by satellite are used to retrieve p(CO2) in the Huanghai Sea and the Bohai Sea;and a better accuracy can be obtained if the quality control for sea surface chlorophyll-a concentration observed by satellite is used.The RMSE of retrieved p(CO2) data with quality control and that without quality control are 15.82 μatm and 31.74 μatm,respectively.     

Primary production in the Strait of Gibraltar: Carbon fixation rates in relation to hydrodynamic and phytoplankton dynamics

Primary production was studied at nine sites distributed within the Strait of Gibraltar (Southern Spain) and North-Western (NW) Alboran Sea by analyzing photosynthesis-irradiance (P–I) relationships and integrated primary production rates in relation to the different types of Deep Chlorophyll Maxima (DCM) detected in the area. The characteristics of the DCM were examined by several methods, including flow cytometry, quantification of transparent expolymer particles and fluorimetric measurements that were applied in order to assess the photo-physiological state of the phytoplankton assemblages with respect to their species composition and water column structure (hydrology). The photosynthetic parameters (derived from P–I relationships) and integrated primary production (range 6–644 mg m⁻² d⁻¹) responded greatly to the diverse DCM identified and thereby the spatial variability of the primary production observed in the region was found to depend upon the occurrence of the different types of phytoplankton accumulations, which were themselves indicative of the previous history of the water column. The net contribution of the primary production to the air–sea CO₂ exchange process was also evaluated in the area. Results indicated that this region behaved as a net sink for the atmospheric CO₂, with the intensity of the flux being strongly modulated by the wind intensity.     

中国南海、东海及黄海海域海气二氧化碳通量与生产力的物理生物地球化学模拟研究

Marginal seas play important roles in regulating the global carbon budget, but there are great uncertainties in estimating carbon sources and sinks in the continental margins. A Pacific basin-wide physical-biogeochemical model is used to estimate primary productivity and air-sea CO_2 flux in the South China Sea(SCS), the East China Sea(ECS), and the Yellow Sea(YS). The model is forced with daily air-sea fluxes which are derived from the NCEP2 reanalysis from 1982 to 2005. During the period of time, the modeled monthly-mean air-sea CO_2 fluxes in these three marginal seas altered from an atmospheric carbon sink in winter to a source in summer. On annualmean basis, the SCS acts as a source of carbon to the atmosphere(16 Tg/a, calculated by carbon, released to the atmosphere), and the ECS and the YS are sinks for atmospheric carbon(–6.73 Tg/a and –5.23 Tg/a, respectively,absorbed by the ocean). The model results suggest that the sea surface temperature(SST) controls the spatial and temporal variations of the oceanic pCO_2 in the SCS and ECS, and biological removal of carbon plays a compensating role in modulating the variability of the oceanic pCO_2 and determining its strength in each sea,especially in the ECS and the SCS. However, the biological activity is the dominating factor for controlling the oceanic pCO_2 in the YS. The modeled depth-integrated primary production(IPP) over the euphotic zone shows seasonal variation features with annual-mean values of 293, 297, and 315 mg/(m~2·d) in the SCS, the ECS, and the YS, respectively. The model-integrated annual-mean new production(uptake of nitrate) values, as in carbon units, are 103, 109, and 139 mg/(m~2·d), which yield the f-ratios of 0.35, 0.37, and 0.45 for the SCS, the ECS, and the YS, respectively. Compared to the productivity in the ECS and the YS, the seasonal variation of biological productivity in the SCS is rather weak. The atmospheric pCO_2 increases from 1982 to 2005, which is consistent with the anthropogenic CO_2 input to the atmosphere. The oceanic pCO_2 increases in responses to the atmospheric pCO_2 that drives air-sea CO_2 flux in the model. The modeled increase rate of oceanic pCO_2 is0.91 μatm/a in the YS, 1.04 μatm/a in the ECS, and 1.66 μatm/a in the SCS, respectively.     

High-resolution measurement of Southern Ocean CO2 and O2/Ar by membrane inlet mass spectrometry

This paper evaluates the simultaneous measurement of dissolved gases (CO₂ and O₂/Ar ratios) by membrane inlet mass spectrometry (MIMS) along the 180° meridian in the Southern Ocean. The calibration of pCO₂ measurements by MIMS is reported for the first time using two independent methods of temperature correction. Multiple calibrations and method comparison exercises conducted in the Southern Ocean between New Zealand and the Ross Sea showed that the MIMS method provides pCO₂ measurements that are consistent with those obtained by standard techniques (i.e. headspace equilibrator equipped with a Li–Cor NDIR analyser). The overall MIMS accuracy compared to Li–Cor measurements was 0.8 μatm. The O₂/Ar ratio measurements were calibrated with air-equilibrated seawater standards stored at constant temperature (0 ± 1 °C). The reproducibility of the O₂/Ar standards was better than 0.07% during the 9 days of transect between New Zealand and the Ross Sea.The high frequency, real-time measurements of dissolved gases with MIMS revealed significant small-scale heterogeneity in the distribution of pCO₂ and biologically-induced O₂ supersaturation (ΔO₂/Ar). North of 65°S several prominent thermal fronts influenced CO₂ concentrations, with biological factors also contributing to local variability. In contrast, the spatial variation of pCO₂ in the Ross Sea gyre was almost entirely attributed to the biological utilization of CO_2, with only small temperature effects. This high productivity region showed a strong inverse relationship between pCO₂ and biologically-induced O₂ disequilibria (r² = 0.93). The daily sea air CO₂ flux ranged from − 0.2 mmol/m² in the Northern Sub-Antarctic Front to − 6.4 mmol/m² on the Ross Sea shelves where the maximum CO₂ influx reached values up to − 13.9 mmol/m². This suggests that the Southern Ocean water (south of 58°S) acts as a seasonal sink for atmospheric CO₂ at the time of our field study.     

Microbial photosynthesis in coral reef sediments (Heron Reef, Australia)

We investigated microphytobenthic photosynthesis at four stations in the coral reef sediments at Heron Reef, Australia. The microphytobenthos was dominated by diatoms, dinoflagellates and cyanobacteria, as indicated by biomarker pigment analysis. Conspicuous algae firmly attached to the sand grains (ca. 100 μm in diameter, surrounded by a hard transparent wall) were rich in peridinin, a marker pigment for dinoflagellates, but also showed a high diversity based on cyanobacterial 16S rDNA gene sequence analysis. Specimens of these algae that were buried below the photic zone exhibited an unexpected stimulation of respiration by light, resulting in an increase of local oxygen concentrations upon darkening. Net photosynthesis of the sediments varied between 1.9 and 8.5 mmol O₂ m⁻² h⁻¹ and was strongly correlated with Chl a content, which lay between 31 and 84 mg m⁻². An estimate based on our spatially limited dataset indicates that the microphytobenthic production for the entire reef is in the order of magnitude of the production estimated for corals. Photosynthesis stimulated calcification at all investigated sites (0.2–1.0 mmol Ca²⁺ m⁻² h⁻¹). The sediments of at least three stations were net calcifying. Sedimentary N₂-fixation rates (measured by acetylene reduction assays at two sites) ranged between 0.9 to 3.9 mmol N₂ m⁻² h⁻¹ and were highest in the light, indicating the importance of heterocystous cyanobacteria. In coral fingers no N₂-fixation was measurable, which stresses the importance of the sediment compartment for reef nitrogen cycling.     

Schooling behaviour and environmental forcing in relation to anchoveta distribution: An analysis across multiple spatial scales

The Peruvian anchovy or anchoveta (Engraulis ringens) supports the highest worldwide fishery landings and varies in space and time over many scales. Here we present the first comprehensive sub-mesocale study of anchoveta distribution in relation to the environment. During November 2004, we conducted a behavioural ecology survey off central Peru and used a series of observational and sampling tools including SST and CO₂ sensors, Niskin bottles, CTD probes, zooplankton sampling, stomach content analysis, echo-sounder, multibeam sonar, and bird observations. The sub-mesoscale survey areas were chosen from mesoscale acoustic surveys. A routine coast-wide (2000 km) acoustic survey performed just after the sub-mesoscale surveys, provided information at an even larger population scale. The availability of nearly concurrent sub-mesoscale, mesoscale and coast-wide information on anchoveta distribution allowed for a unique multi-scale synthesis. At the sub-mesoscale (100s m to km) physical processes (internal waves and frontogenesis) concentrated plankton into patches and determined anchoveta spatial distribution. At the mesoscale (10s km) location relative to the zone of active upwelling (and age of the upwelled water) and the depth of the oxycline had strong impacts on the anchoveta. Finally, over 100s km the size of the productive area, as defined by the upwelled cold coastal waters, was the determining factor. We propose a conceptual view of the relative importance of social behaviour and environmental (biotic and abiotic) processes on the spatial distribution of anchoveta. Our ecological space has two y-axis; one based on self-organization (social behaviour), and the other based on the environmental processes. At scales from the individual (10s cm), to the nucleus (m), social behaviour (e.g. the need to school) drives spatial organization. At scales larger than the school, environmental forces are the main driver of fish distribution. The conceptual ecosystem models presented in this paper may provide the final links needed to develop accurate forecasts of the spatial distribution of anchoveta over multiple scales.