Hydrography of the Central and Western Gulf of Mexico

Portela, Esther; Tenreiro, M.; Pallàs‐Sanz, Enric; Meunier, Thomas; Ruiz‐Angulo, Angel; Sosa‐Gutierrez, Rosmery; Cusí, Simó

doi:10.1029/2018jc013813

Cited by 44 publications

(71 citation statements)

References 47 publications

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“…TACW originates in the tropical Atlantic Ocean and enters the Caribbean Sea through the southeastern passages ( Figure A2; Metcalf, 1976;Morrison & Nowlin, 1982). Although the origin of this oxygen depletion in this layer remains unclear, the mean current pattern suggest that TACW originates near Angola (Portela et al, 2018). We found that the core of TACW (O 2 < 120 μmol/L) was located at the 0 = 27.1 kg/m 3 isopycnal at approximately 500 dbar and had a temperature of 9.3 ± 1.2 • C and a salinity of 35.2 ± 0.2 g/kg.…”

Section: Summary Discussion and Conclusionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Hydrographic and Biological Survey of a Surface‐Intensified Anticyclonic Eddy in the Caribbean Sea

Boog

Jong

Scheidat³

et al. 2019

JGR Oceans

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In the Caribbean Sea, mesoscale anticyclonic ocean eddies impact the local ecosystem by mixing of low salinity river outflow with the nutrient‐rich waters upwelling along the Venezuelan and Colombian coast. To gain insight into the physics and the ecological impact of these anticyclones, we performed a combined hydrographic and biological survey of one Caribbean anticyclone in February 2018. We found that the anticyclone had a radius of 90 km and was surface intensified with the strongest velocities (0.72 m/s) in the upper 150 m of the water column. Below, isopycnal displacements were found down to 700 dbar. The core of the anticyclone entrained waters from the Orinoco River plume and contained slightly elevated chlorophyll concentrations compared to the surroundings. At the edge of the anticyclone we observed higher densities of flying fish but not higher densities of predators like seabirds and cetaceans. Below the surface, a strong temperature inversion (0.98 °C) was present within a barrier layer. In addition, we found thermohaline staircases that originated from double diffusion processes within Tropical Atlantic Central Water.

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Section: Summary Discussion and Conclusionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Hydrographic and Biological Survey of a Surface‐Intensified Anticyclonic Eddy in the Caribbean Sea

Boog

Jong

Scheidat³

et al. 2019

JGR Oceans

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“…LCEs transport warm and saltier Caribbean SUW to the western GoM and play a significant role in the heat and salt budgets (Meunier et al, 2018) and modulate water mass distribution across the central and western GoM (Hamilton et al, 2018;Portela et al, 2018). A recent work by Meunier et al (2020) reports that most of the LCEs decay occurs in the central GoM through submesoscale diffusive processes at scales smaller than 0.25°and before the eddy-eddy interactions occur.…”

Section: Discussion and Concluding Remarksmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…where ρ = 1,026 kg m −3 is a mean density, C p = 4,200 J kg −1°C−1 is the specific heat capacity, θ′ and S′ are the anomalies for the temperature and salinity evaluated at each depth, respectively, and integrated over the area delimited by the edge of the LCE. For the computed AHA and ASA from glider observations, the temperature and salinity anomalies were estimated using a mean vertical profile of T/S (1993-2017) obtained from the updated climatology of the GoM reported in Portela et al (2018), whereas for the computed AHA and ASA from the model, we used a T/S climatology obtained from the 20 years NEMO simulation.…”

Section: Eddy Detectionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Erosion of the Subsurface Salinity Maximum of the Loop Current Eddies From Glider Observations and a Numerical Model

et al. 2020

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The erosion of the subsurface salinity maximum, signature of the Caribbean Subtropical UnderWater (SUW), within the Loop Current Eddy (LCE) Poseidon (August 2016 to July 2017) in the Gulf of Mexico (GoM) and the formation of the Gulf Common Water (GCW) during its journey westward, was observed using glider data. Most of the dilution of the SUW high‐salinity core within Poseidon occurs during late autumn and winter associated with Northern winds and mixed‐layer deepening. The physical processes that contribute to salt dilution of the SUW inside the LCEs' core are investigated using a numerical regional model. The analysis of the salt budget in a long‐lasting numerical LCE and a composite analysis of sixteen LCEs reveal that the salinity trend is mostly explained by the vertical salinity diffusion. Cold and dry Northern winds during the first winter drive strong negative net heat fluxes that trigger turbulent flux of salt into the LCEs' thermostad and dilution of the SUW high‐salinity core below. The vertical salinity diffusion continues homogenizing the salinity in the upper ocean until the vertical gradient of salinity is negligible. As a result, SUW is transformed to precursor of GCW that is ultimately diffused to surrounding waters in the western GoM. Although the contribution of advection to the salinity trend above the isopycnal of 1,026 kg m−3 is of second order, below is the most important process driving loss of salinity, presumably due to, eddy‐eddy interactions during LCEs' westward propagation and eddy pumping (upwelling) during the LCEs' decaying phase along the western slope.

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“…The biogeochemical cycles are partly controlled by the difference between the dark nutrient-rich waters and the upper ocean layer where the availability of light promotes the growth of phytoplankton and hence zooplankton. Figure A3 shows that the model is able to reproduce the seasonal cycle of the mixed layer in the GoM, with deepening during winter and shallowing during summer seasons (Damien et al, 2018;Portela et al, 2018). The model also shows shallower mixed layer depths during summer, and deepens during winter times respect to the Argo floats.…”

Section: Appendix a A1 Basin Scale Model Evaluationmentioning

confidence: 90%

Budget of the total nitrogen in the Yucatan Shelf: driving mechanisms through a physical-biogeochemical coupled model

Estrada-Allis

Souza²,

Sheinbaum

et al. 2019

Preprint

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<p><strong>Abstract.</strong> Continental shelves are the most productive areas in the seas with strongest implications for global Total Nitrogen (TN) cycling. The Yucatan shelf is the largest shelf in the Gulf of Mexico (GoM), however, its general TN budget has not been quantified. This is largely due to the lack of significant spatio-temporal in situ measurements and the complexity of the shelf dynamics, including the Yucatan Current, coastal upwelling, Coastal Trapped Waves (CTWs) and bottom Ekman transport. Through a nine years output of a coupled physical-biogeochemical model of the GoM, the TN budget in the Yucatan shelf is quantified. Results indicate that the main entrance of inorganic nitrogen is through its southern and eastern margins. The TN is then advected to the oligotrophic deep GoM and to the deep Campeche bay. The analysis also shows that the inner shelf (50&#8201;m isobath) is efficient in terms of TN, since all the DIN imported into the shelf is consumed by the phytoplankton. Rivers contribute 20&#8201;% of the TN, while denitrification removes up to 53&#8201;% of TN that enters into the inner shelf. The high-frequency variability of the TN fluxes are modulated by the Yucatan Current in the south and by bottom Ekman transport produced by this current against the shelf-break (250&#8201;m isobath) in the east. This current-topography interaction can help to maintain the upwelling of Cape Catoche, uplifting nutrient-rich water into the euphotic layer. The export of TN at both western and northwestern margins is modulated by CTWs with a mean period of 10 days in agreement with recent observational and modelling studies.</p>

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Hydrography of the Central and Western Gulf of Mexico

Cited by 44 publications

References 47 publications

Hydrographic and Biological Survey of a Surface‐Intensified Anticyclonic Eddy in the Caribbean Sea

Hydrographic and Biological Survey of a Surface‐Intensified Anticyclonic Eddy in the Caribbean Sea

Erosion of the Subsurface Salinity Maximum of the Loop Current Eddies From Glider Observations and a Numerical Model

Budget of the total nitrogen in the Yucatan Shelf: driving mechanisms through a physical-biogeochemical coupled model

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