It was expected that the slope of phytoplankton should be flatter where
hydrodynamics facilitate the retention or suspension of 48°N
large cells within the water column. We shall see that 10°W under the conditions of strong vertical mixing found
inside of the Celtic Sea front, not only retention time
but mixing layer depth and resuspension from the bot-
tom are relevant physical forcing processes affecting the
size structure of the pelagic community.