ABSTRACT
It has become abundantly clear that understanding the controls on pelagic communities and their chemical environment cannot be accomplished without a strong foundation in ocean physics, hence the frequent use of the term
biological-physical coupling
. The physical processes of interest include upwelling, wind mixing, internal waves, and interannual climate dynamics, and are variable over a broad range of temporal and spatial scales (Harris, 1980). No single observational platform can provide the necessary data for quantifying the effect of these physical perturbations on chemical and biological dynamics. Ships provide the opportunity to conduct detailed process studies, but the spatial and temporal coverage of measurements is sparse. Satellites offer exceptional spatial and temporal coverage, but cannot quantify vertical variability in the water column beyond approximately 10 m. Moorings and drifters give excellent temporal coverage, but are limited to an Eulerian or Lagrangian spatial context, respectively. The challenge is to combine the various strengths and weaknesses of these techniques to create a view of the process of interest that is significantly clearer than the sum of the individual pieces.
