A glider network to study the physical-biogeochemical coupling in the Atlantic ocean

We present here how gliders can be used to study and monitor the physical-biogeochemical coupling in different areas. In the framework of EU H2020 AtlantOS project, gliders are deployed often on a sustained basis with a scientific payload that can address this kind of issues. Because of the spatio-temporal coverage of the glider measurements, new features about how the physics can influence the development of phytoplankton communities can now be characterized. Focus here is on different time and space scales at which this coupling is particularly important. Examples of glider measurements in the Norwegian Sea, between Scotland and Iceland, in the Macaronesian area and in the tropical Atlantic are analyzed to address the diversity of the processes. We show that very high space and time resolution measurements in key areas are necessary to better understand processes responsible for the evolution of physical and biogeochemical properties in the open ocean, the continental slope area and the shelf. Knowledge on this variability, from the diel and local/meso/submeso scales to climate on the global scale, is necessary to reduce uncertainties in biogeochemical stocks and fluxes and detect changes in underlying processes in a climate change context. We propose here a coordinated approach all over the Atlantic Ocean to address such issues.