| Accumulation of heat, or dissolved substances (nutrients, pollutants, etc.), or fine suspended particles in a water body is a key process in the functioning of aquatic ecosystems and their resistance to perturbations. In complex and wide open environments such as marine ecosystems, net accumulation is not only linked to the local renewal capacity of the water body, but also to the partial recirculation of water due to convective cells of various sizes. The English Channel, which can be considered as mainly dominated by tidal movements, exhibits such a complex quasi-permanent long-term circulation, made of a central "river" bordered with a lot of nested gyres. Here, we show that structures visible on satellite images of SST (Sea Surface Temperature),... |
