Reginaldo Durazo

Evolution of oceanographic conditions off Baja California: 1997–1999

Abstract This paper examines the oceanic response off Baja California, Mexico, to the 1997–1998 El Nino and the transition to La Nina conditions. The data presented were gathered during seven cruises over a grid based on the CalCOFI station plan, from lines 100–130, out to station 80. T–S diagrams with data obtained during the peak phase of El Nino, demonstrate that warmer and saltier (spicier) than normal conditions prevailed in the upper 600 m over this region. Temperature and salinity anomalies calculated for CalCOFI line 120 revealed waters near the coast at 50 m depth to be up to 8.7 °C warmer and S=0.8 saltier than the climatology during October 1997. These large anomalies persisted through January 1998, with some slight diminution in the magnitudes near the surface. This study suggests that anomalously warm and salty waters were fed from a source of spicy water to the southwest, identified as Subtropical Surface Water (StSW), and that low-salinity Tropical surface waters (TSW) were blocked to the southeast in the vicinity of the tip of the Peninsula. Subsurface waters associated with the California undercurrent (CU), fed from the Eastern Tropical Pacific (ETP), were also warmer and saltier than normal, and indicate a significant expansion in volume of the CU, presumably a result of intensification of poleward flow at depth. We postulate that the well defined near-surface and deep poleward flows in the study area reflect anomalous large-scale cyclonic circulation affecting the flow in the southeastern region of the North Pacific subtropical gyre east of 125°W. Following the El Nino event, warm and salty upper waters retreated to latitudes south of Punta Eugenia. With the return to normal and cooler conditions, equatorward flow over the sampling grid predominated with an increased meandering and mesoscale activity. Transition to La Nina conditions would have been associated with re-establishment of normal anticyclonic flow in the southeastern quadrant of the Pacific subtropical gyre.

Dynamics of tidal mixing fronts in the North Sea

Twenty years since the discovery of tidal mixing fronts there are still few convincing observations of the velocity field associated with these structures. Simple models of shelf sea fronts predict strong along-front jets, weaker convergent circulations and instabilities. During the North Sea Project a series of studies of the Flamborough frontal system has used a new approach based upon novel combinations of modern instrumentation (hf radar, acoustic Doppler current profiler, Decca-Argos drifting buoys and towed undulating ctd) and have provided one of the first directly observed pictures of shelf sea frontal circulation. Observational confirmation of jet-like along-front flow has been found together with evidence of cross-frontal convergence. A new generation of eddy-resolving models will help to focus the next phase of frontal circulation studies in relation to questions concerning baroclinic instability and eddy generation.

Multiple B-vitamin depletion in large areas of the coastal ocean

B vitamins are some of the most commonly required biochemical cofactors in living systems. Therefore, cellular metabolism of marine vitamin-requiring (auxotrophic) phytoplankton and bacteria would likely be significantly compromised if B vitamins (thiamin B1, riboflavin B2, pyridoxine B6, biotin B7, and cobalamin B12) were unavailable. However, the factors controlling the synthesis, ambient concentrations, and uptake of these key organic compounds in the marine environment are still not well understood. Here, we report vertical distributions of five B vitamins (and the amino acid methionine) measured simultaneously along a latitudinal gradient through the contrasting oceanographic regimes of the southern California-Baja California coast in the Northeast Pacific margin. Although vitamin concentrations ranged from below the detection limits of our technique to 30 pM for B2 and B12 and to ∼500 pM for B1, B6, and B7, each vitamin showed a different geographical and depth distribution. Vitamin concentrations were independent of each other and of inorganic nutrient levels, enriched primarily in the upper mesopelagic zone (depth of 100–300 m), and associated with water mass origin. Moreover, vitamin levels were below our detection limits (ranging from ≤0.18 pM for B12 to ≤0.81 pM for B1) in extensive areas (100s of kilometers) of the coastal ocean, and thus may exert important constraints on the taxonomic composition of phytoplankton communities, and potentially also on rates of primary production and carbon sequestration.

Observations of a cyclonic gyre in the western Irish Sea

Nine free-drifting buoys were deployed for a period of 10 days in July 1990 in the western Irish Sea. High resolution buoy trajectories clearly revealed the existence of a cyclonic (anticlockwise) gyre with implied circulation velocities of 0.05 m s−1 and rotation time of about 10–15 days. Residual current vectors from ship-borne ADCP records extracted with the assistance of a numerical tidal model also showed cyclonic circulation in the region. The observed circulation pattern is consistent with geostrophic surface flow around a static, isolated dome of cold, dense, bottom water which is a repeatedly observed feature of the western Irish Sea summer density structure. It is suggested that the gyre may be important in promoting planktonic larval retention in the western Irish Sea.

A numerical study of the ex-ROFI of the Colorado River

The freshwater discharge of the Colorado River into the Gulf of California has been reduced to negligible quantities since the construction of the Hoover Dam in 1935. These radical anthropogenic changes in the hydrography of the Colorado River Delta had striking repercussions on both physical and biological processes. Using historical river discharge data, the changes in the flow dynamics and hydrographic patterns before and after the drastic freshwater reduction are studied numerically, using a three-dimensional nonlinear shelf model. The results are applied to assess the environmental impact of the reduction of river discharge on the area. Satellite imagery is also used to compare our results with observed fronts.

Changes in the hydrography of Central California waters associated with the 1997-98 El Nino

Abstract Oceanographic conditions off Central California were monitored by means of a series of 13 hydrographic cruises between February 1997 and January 1999, which measured water properties along an oceanographic section perpendicular to the California Coast. The 1997–98 El Nino event was defined by higher than normal sea levels at Monterey, which began in June 1997, peaked in November 1997, and returned to normal in March 1998. The warming took place in two distinct periods. During June and July 1997, the sea level increased as a result of stronger than normal coastal warming below 200 dbars and within 100 km of the coast, which was associated with poleward flow of saltier waters. During this period, deeper (400–1000 dbar) waters between 150–200 km from shore were also warmed and became more saline. Subsequently, sea level continued to rise through January 1998, mostly as a result of the warming above 200 dbars although, after a brief period of cooling in September 1997, waters below 200 dbar were also warmer than normal during this period. This winter warm anomaly was also coastally trapped, extending 200 km from shore and was accompanied by cooler and fresher water in the offshore California current. In March and April 1998, sea level dropped quickly to normal levels and inshore waters were fresher and warmer than the previous spring and flowed southward. The warming was consistent with equatorial forcing of Central California waters via propagation of Kelvin or coastally-trapped waves. The observed change in heat content associated with the 1997–98 El Nino was the same as that observed during the previous seasonal cycle. The warming and freshening events were similar to events observed during the 1957–58 and 1982–83 El Ninos.

The Making of a Productivity Hotspot in the Coastal Ocean

Background Highly productive hotspots in the ocean often occur where complex physical forcing mechanisms lead to aggregation of primary and secondary producers. Understanding how hotspots persist, however, requires combining knowledge of the spatio-temporal linkages between geomorphology, physical forcing, and biological responses with the physiological requirements and movement of top predators. Methodology/Principal Findings Here we integrate remotely sensed oceanography, ship surveys, and satellite telemetry to show how local geomorphology interacts with physical forcing to create a region with locally enhanced upwelling and an adjacent upwelling shadow that promotes retentive circulation, enhanced year-round primary production, and prey aggregation. These conditions provide an area within the upwelling shadow where physiologically optimal water temperatures can be found adjacent to a region of enhanced prey availability, resulting in a foraging hotspot for loggerhead sea turtles (Caretta caretta) off the Baja California peninsula, Mexico. Significance/Conclusions We have identified the set of conditions that lead to a persistent top predator hotspot, which increases our understanding of how highly migratory species exploit productive regions of the ocean. These results will aid in the development of spatially and environmentally explicit management strategies for marine species of conservation concern.

Seasonality of the transitional region of the California Current System off Baja California

Hydrographic data collected over the period 1997–2013 are analyzed to investigate the seasonality of hydrographic features and associated geostrophic flows off the Baja California peninsula. The upper ocean in the region was found to be homogeneous in winter and spring but subdivided into two regions in the summer and autumn. In the first case, the system typically shows relatively low-temperature and salinity waters, which give it a subarctic character. In the second, only the region north of Punta Eugenia (28°N) maintains subarctic characteristics, while the southern region receives an inflow of tropical and subtropical waters that results from the weakening of northwesterly winds, which allows the poleward advection of surface waters. Also during this period, a positive wind stress curl promotes the zonal advection of North Pacifics eastern edge waters into the coast and to the north as a surface coastal flow. Average seasonal patterns of geostrophic flow at 200 dbar revealed that the differentiation into provinces is also evident at that depth, with two clearly defined cyclonic structures in summer and autumn, both separated at the latitude of Punta Eugenia. The analyses conducted also showed a clear continuity of the California undercurrent along the shelf break, with more diffuse currents in the winter. Poleward flows were observed throughout the water column, especially in summer and autumn, although the origin of the surface flow does not necessarily involve a surfacing of the California Undercurrent.

Evidence of inertially generated coastal‐trapped waves in the eastern tropical Pacific

Observations of coastal-trapped waves (CTW) are limited by instrumentation technologies and temporal and spatial resolutions; hence, their complete description is still limited. In the present work, we used measurements from high-frequency radio scatterometers (HFR) to analyze the subinertial dynamics of the Gulf of Tehuantepec in the Mexican Pacific, a region strongly influenced by offshore gap winds. The data showed subinertial oscillations that may be explained by poleward propagating CTWs. The oscillations showed higher coherence (95% confidence) with gap winds in the Gulfs of Papagayo and Panama than with local winds. Vertical thermocline oscillations, measured with a moored thermistor-chain, also showed subinertial oscillations coherent with Papagayo and Panama winds. The period of the observed oscillations was ∼4 days, which corresponds to the inertial period of the Gulf of Panama. This suggests that inertial oscillations generated by offshore wind outbursts over Panama may have traveled northward along the coastal shelf, and were detected as surface current pulses by the HFR installed approximately 2000 km further north in the Gulf of Tehuantepec. To further explore the presence of CTWs, the 4 day band-pass filtered currents measured by the HFR were analyzed using empirical orthogonal functions. We found that the first mode behaved like a CTW confined to the shelf break. Additionally, the observed oscillations were compared with baroclinic and barotropic CTW models. The results support the notion that nearly inertial baroclinic CTWs are generated in the Gulfs of Panama and Papagayo and then propagate toward the Gulf of Tehuantepec.

Fine-Scale Tidal and Subtidal Variability of an Upwelling-Influenced Bay as Measured by the Mexican High Frequency Radar Observing System

The hydrodynamics of a relatively small semi-enclosed bay influenced by the California Coastal Current were studied by means of sea surface current measurements obtained with two HF radars and by data recorded with sea surface drifters. Results showed that fine-scale tidal and subtidal circulation in the inner bay depends on two mesoscale processes, the California Coastal Current (CCC) and the synoptic variability of the wind field. On the one hand, a fringe or margin of convergence–divergence produced by the impinging CCC over the inner waters of the bay developed a barrier, which restrained surface particles, hence waters, inside the bay. On the other hand, the mountain chain around the bay apparently modifies the synoptic wind field, by means of developing a shadow-like zone inside the bay where the drifters tend to accumulate. This may be explained by slightly sea surface set up, hence, water convergence due to the fine-scale atmospheric pressure field.