The Malvinas Islands Shelf (MIS) encompasses one of the most productive portions of the southwestern Atlantic. Large phytoplankton blooms, which constitute the base of the marine food web, emerge from the northern sector of the MIS and extend hundreds of kilometers northward along the Patagonian shelfbreak. The physical processes contributing to MIS fertilization are poorly understood. Here we use the results of a high‐resolution ocean model to characterize circulation and water mass exchanges between the MIS and the Southern Ocean, as well as to identify the physical processes underlying fertilization of the shelf waters. Model results show that the shelf is characterized by an anticyclonic circulation pattern in the southwestern region that intensifies during summer and weakens during winter. The blocking effect of the islands leads to development of an upwind westward-flowing current in the northern portion of the MIS, recirculation cells in the western portion, and a northward throughflow in the narrow strait separating them. Particle tracking experiments reveal that the northern portion of the Drake Passage is the largest water mass source for the MIS. Passive tracers indicate that the place where the Antarctic Circumpolar Current collides with the MIS is the main site for the outcropping of deep waters. Subsequent outcropping is largely driven by the synergetic interaction of tides and wind forcing. After spreading along the southwestern shelfbreak, the concentration of tracer peaks in the winter and decays during the spring. In summer, the tracer accumulates on the lee of the islands in agreement with satellite images of chlorophyll-a concentration. Additional experiments show that there is an important contribution of MIS waters to the Patagonian shelfbreak front.

马尔维纳斯群岛大陆架 (MIS) 包含大西洋西南部最具生产力的部分之一。构成海洋食物网基础的大型浮游植物群出现在 MIS 的北部，并沿着巴塔哥尼亚大陆架向北延伸数百公里。导致 MIS 受精的物理过程知之甚少。在这里，我们使用高分辨率海洋模型的结果来描述 MIS 和南大洋之间的环流和水质量交换，并确定大陆架水域受精的物理过程。模型结果表明，该大陆架在西南地区具有夏季增强、冬季减弱的反气旋环流模式。岛屿的阻塞效应导致在 MIS 北部形成逆风向西流动的水流，在西部形成回流单元，以及在分隔它们的狭窄海峡中向北通流。粒子追踪实验表明，德雷克海峡北部是 MIS 最大的水体来源。被动示踪剂表明，南极绕极流与MIS碰撞的地方是深水出露的主要场所。随后的露头主要是由潮汐和风力的协同相互作用驱动的。沿西南陆架蔓延后，示踪剂的浓度在冬季达到峰值，在春季衰减。在夏天，示踪剂在岛屿的背风处积聚，与叶绿素-a 浓度的卫星图像一致。其他实验表明，MIS 水域对巴塔哥尼亚大陆架前缘有重要贡献。