Spectra analysis of Drake Passage Oscillation Index (DPOI)
from 1952 to 2003, Antarctica

An assessment of the environmental processes influencing variability in the recruitment and density of Antarctic krill (Euphausia superba DANA) is important as variability in krill stocks affects the Antarctic marine ecosystem as a whole. Naganobu et al. (1999) had assessed variability in krill recruitment and density with hypothesized environmental factors; strength of westerly winds (westerlies) determined from sea-level pressure differences across the Drake Passage, between Rio Gallegos, Argentina, and Base Esperanza, at the tip of the Antarctic Peninsula, sea ice cover and chlorophyll-a in the Antarctic Peninsula area during 1982-1998. They found significant correlations between krill recruitment and those factors. Fluctuations in the westerlies across the Drake Passage were referred to as the Drake Passage Oscillation Index (DPOI). In addition, we had extended time series of DPOI using historical data from May 1952 to May 2003 and tested spectra analysis of the DPOI. The spectrum peaks are 20, 35 and 55 months including the short cycles of 6 and 12 months.