ABSTRACT
Plankton patchiness, deÞned by Cushing as the pattern of spatial extents of density-delimited clusters,
is intermittent in time and space. Depending on the scale of observation, the degree of plankton intermittency at any given location varies. In a dynamic ocean shelf environment, such as Georges Bank, Northwest Atlantic, the variability ranges from steady, gradual changes with scale to abrupt transitions. Temporal scales shorter than tidal cycles, longer than seasons, and at every scale in between inßuence environmental variability, and ultimately spatial variability in plankton distributions. Spatial variability in hydrography further enhances differences between regions. Transects from the GLOBEC Northwest Atlantic Broadscale survey of June 1999 illustrate the character of one-dimensional (1D) ßuorescence data records reßecting rapid changes in hydrography on the southern ßank of Georges Bank (Figure 19.1).
