Figure 1

Sampling stations during the (A) POS520 cruise in 2018 and the (B) POS532 cruise in 2019, showing respective mean monthly chl-a concentrations (mg m−3) from the MODIS-aqua database35. Since cloud cover obstructed chl-a measurements in February for both years, monthly measurements are shown for March in 2018 and January in 2019. As a result, the MODIS-aqua data does not align with our cyclonic eddy sampling points. White fields indicate missing data due to cloud cover. Circles indicate day (grey) and night time (black) sampling.