Relationship between phytoplankton production and the physical structure of the water column near Cobb Seamount, northeast Pacific

The objective of this study was to determine the impact of the Cobb Seamount (northeast Pacific) on phytoplankton biomass and primary production. In August 1991, we sampled along six 30 km spokes radiating outward from the summit of Cobb Seamount. Surface chlorophyll a (Chl a) and incident light conditions were relatively uniform over this mesoscale sampling grid, but primary production varied over a ten-fold range. Statistical analyses linked these production variations to a subsurface (>50 m) thermohaline front skirting the flanks of the seamount. The thermal stratification of surface waters (