Ecologie des foraminifères planctoniques du golfe de Gascogne ...

tel-00480660, version 1 - 4 May 2010
Chapitre II
2. Oceanographic setting
The Bay of Biscay is a semi-enclosed basin in the transitional eastern North Atlantic (Fig. II-
1). The general circulation in the central area of the Bay of Biscay is characterised by weak
cyclonic surface circulation (Koutsikopoulos and Le Cann, 1996), and cyclonic and
anticyclonic eddies (Fig. II-1; SWODDIES, Slope Water Oceanic Eddies; Pingree and Le
Cann, 1992). Along the continental slope, currents are mainly oriented poleward (Pingree and
Le Cann, 1990). The warm and salty Navidad Current penetrates the southern part of the Bay
of Biscay from the Portuguese margin (warm water extension of the Iberian Poleward Current
in the Bay of Biscay) particularly during winter (Pingree and Le Cann, 1990; Garcia-Soto et
al., 2002; Le Cann and Serpette, 2009).
Figure II-1: Sampling Stations WH, A, B, and D (black dots) at the Plateau des Landes, slope and
outer shelf at the southern Bay of Biscay. Inset shows the general hydrology (Koutsikopoulos and Le
Cann, 1996): (1) General oceanic circulation, (2) eddies, (3) Navidad Current, warm water extension
of the Iberian Poleward Current in the Bay of Biscay (Pingree and Le Cann, 1990; Garcia-Soto et al.,
2002), and (4) shelf residual circulation.
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