Document Type

Article

Publication Date

6-2018

DOI

10.3390/jmse6020036

Publication Title

Journal of Marine Science and Engineering

Volume

6

Issue

2

Pages

36 (19 pages)

Abstract

The southern Caribbean Sea experiences strong coastal upwelling between December and April due to the seasonal strengthening of the trade winds. A second upwelling was recently detected in the southeastern Caribbean during June-August, when local coastal wind intensities weaken. Using synoptic satellite measurements and in situ data, this mid-year upwelling was characterized in terms of surface and subsurface temperature structures, and its mechanisms were explored. The mid-year upwelling lasts 6-9 weeks with satellite sea surface temperature (SST) ~1-2°C warmer than the primary upwelling. Three possible upwelling mechanisms were analyzed: cross-shore Ekman transport (csET) due to alongshore winds, wind curl (Ekman pumping/suction) due to wind spatial gradients, and dynamic uplift caused by variations in the strength/position of the Caribbean Current. These parameters were derived from satellite wind and altimeter observations. The principal and the mid-year upwelling were driven primarily by csET (78-86%). However, SST had similar or better correlations with the Ekman pumping/suction integrated up to 100 km offshore (W(E)100) than with csET, possibly due to its influence on the isopycnal depth of the source waters for the coastal upwelling. The mid-year upwelling was not caused by dynamic uplift but it might have been enhanced by the seasonal intensification of the Caribbean Current during that period. © 2018 by the authors.

Rights

This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license.

Original Publication Citation

Rueda-Roa, D. T., Ezer, T., & Muller-Karger, F. E. (2018). Description and mechanisms of the mid-year upwelling in the southern caribbean sea from remote sensing and local data. Journal of Marine Science and Engineering, 6(2), 36. doi:10.3390/jmse6020036

ORCID

0000-0002-2018-6071 (Ezer)

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