Effects of the seasonality of mesoscale eddies on the planktonic dynamics off eastern Brazil

Luko, Caique D.; Silveira, Ilson Carlos Almeida da; Tandon, Amit; Flierl, Glenn R.

doi:10.1016/j.dynatmoce.2022.101299

Cited by 4 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 25 publications

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“…Thus, oil dispersion on the sea surface from a transversely mobile source to the bifurcation system would result in greater north-south spreading. Additionally, mesoscale activities already identified in the region [48,49] might be capable of trapping oil patches and advecting them to more distant regions.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ship Route Oil Spill Modeling: A Case Study of the Northeast Brazil Event, 2019

Lemos,

Andrade,

Franklin

et al. 2024

Applied Sciences

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In this study, we investigate the circulation and chemical processes associated with the deposition of the largest oil spill that reached the northeast coast of Brazil during the second half of 2019. Using the Oil Spill Contingency And Response model (OSCAR), we performed both deterministic and probabilistic simulations of oil spills from tanker ships that were present in the sea in the region at the time. The study used a dataset comprising the latitudinal distribution of oil sightings along the coast between 31 August and 2 December 2019 (box plot analysis) provided by the Brazilian Institute of Environment and Renewable Natural Resources (IBAMA). The total amount of oil that reached the coast during this period (approximately 5000 tons) and the date and location of the first sighting (30 August, in the southern part of the state of Paraíba (PB)) were also used as parameters to assess the results of the 31 simulations conducted for ships en route near the area of interest between July and August 2019. The results indicate that a leak having occurred through a mobile source is the most plausible hypothesis for explaining the observed temporal–spatial arrival of the oil leaks along the Brazilian coastline. We suggest that prevention, monitoring, and international cooperation are essential for reducing the risks of future environmental accidents of the kind analyzed in this study and to protect the environment and communities affected.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ship Route Oil Spill Modeling: A Case Study of the Northeast Brazil Event, 2019

Lemos,

Andrade,

Franklin

et al. 2024

Applied Sciences

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“…Lastly, these anomalies are normalized by the time-averaged background Chl-a field over the whole period (Gaube et al, 2014). For each eddy event, using the core position and the effective radius (ER) data from the META3.2 DT product (Mesoscale Eddy Trajectories Atlas; Product from AVISO+), these anomalies were then interpolated to an area of 4 × 4 ER centered on the eddy center (Luko et al, 2022). Finally, we computed the average of all the events and analyzed the resulting bio-optical footprints of the composite fields.…”

Section: Appendix A: Computation Of the Seasonal Composite Average Mapsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The Brazil Current meanders that develop off these two capes often last for an entire season (da Silveira et al., 2023; Uchoa et al., 2023), and transport enriched shelf waters offshore, driving cross‐shelf fluxes of nutrients and organic material to the oligotrophic ocean basin (e.g., Chenillat et al., 2016; Luko et al., 2022; Zhang et al., 2023). This lateral transport, along with eddy‐induced upwelling, can be an important source of nutrients to the pelagic ecosystem in the western boundary of the subtropical gyre.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Phytoplankton Responses to Mesoscale and Submesoscale Processes in a Tropical Meander

Pereira,

da Silveira,

Tandon

et al. 2024

JGR Oceans

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The mesoscale activity of western boundary currents can induce changes in the oligotrophic conditions of the oceanic subtropical gyres. Off SE Brazil, recurrent meanders in the Brazil Current can modulate the pelagic ecosystem through eddy‐induced upwelling, as well as drive coastal upwelling and cross‐shelf exchanges. Despite their relevance, direct measurements of such meanders are scarce. At the end of the Spring of 2019, we acquired measurements of both physical and biogeochemical properties along a transect through one of these features, with 5–10 km spacing between stations. Displacements of the isopycnals at the meander edges arose from submesoscale filaments along the meander's rim, associated with the signature of shelf water masses. Chlorophyll distributions along the transect indicated phytoplankton responses to the different dynamic regimes in the meander: eddy stirring in the surface mixed layers versus eddy pumping in the subsurface waters, and mesoscale dynamics in the meander center versus submesoscale dynamics in its periphery. Subsurface phytoplankton biomass was enhanced in the meander center, likely due to eddy pumping raising the nutricline into the euphotic zone. Eddy pumping also appears to have contributed to a shift in the phytoplankton community composition to larger organisms. Our results indicate that the physical dynamics create different habitats across the meander, leading to spatial patchiness in the chlorophyll distributions, with different types of organisms in distinct parts of the meander.

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