17 Basic Ecosystem Dynamics in the Red Sea as Seen by Sundry . . .
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Fig. 17.9 Red Sea climatological (monthly scale) SeaWiFS-derived chl ABV [mg m
−3 ] and
QuikSCAT-derived ws ABV [m s
−1 ] (left panels). Linear regressions of the monthly mean chl ABV
and ws ABV (right panels), for the entire basin (upper row), the northern sub-basin (middle row) and
the southern sub-basin (lower row)
fall-winter, going roughly from October to March (i.e. that with the largest number
of valid pixels), is characterized by clear skies—as well as by higher chl and ws
values (and by prevailing southerly winds in the southern-sub-basin). A period that
will be referred to as spring-summer, going roughly from April to September (i.e.
that with a smaller number of valid pixels), is characterized by persistent cloud
cover—as well as by lower chl and ws values (and by prevailing northerly winds in
the southern-sub-basin).
As seen in Fig. 17.9 (left panels), fall-winter starts with a first phase, from October
to December, in which chl values are increasing everywhere. Starting from the