Spatial and Seasonal Patterns of Salinity in a Large and Shallow Tropical Estuary of the Western Caribbean

Abstract

Salinity profiles and meteorological data were analyzed during February, May, and September 2006 in Chetumal Bay, a large, shallow estuary of the Western Caribbean. Local meteorological conditions revealed three seasons: (1) a dry season (March-May); (2) a wet season (June-October); and (3) the nortes season, with northerly wind events (October-February). During the nortes and wet seasons, salinity ranged between 13 and 16 psu, and salinity was highest in the dry season, ranging between 18 and 22 psu over most of the area; a strong stratification and a significant contribution of salty water characterized this season. Strong horizontal gradients were observed near Rio Hondo during the three seasons. Deep and narrow peculiar bathymetric features called the pozas showed a strong stratification and a relatively high salinity. The northern part of Chetumal Bay and probably the entire system are far from being homogeneous.

Movement patterns of Antillean manatees in Chetumal Bay (Mexico) and coastal Belize: A challenge for regional conservation

“…Precipitation then decreases from November to January, corresponding to a period with several cold fronts (Carrillo et al . ).…”

Effects of ocean warming on growth and distribution of dinoflagellates associated with ciguatera fish poisoning in the Caribbean

“…Carlson and Tindall (1985), Gillespie et al (1985aGillespie et al ( , 1985b, Taylor (1985) and Hurbungs et al (2001) each characterized seasonal occurrence of CFP, but were unable to pinpoint the causative factors. In the GCR, the seasonality of temperaturegrowth effects on Gambierdiscus abundance are potentially complicated by other seasonal signals including variation in the timing of dry vs. rainy seasons and seasonal wind-driven upwelling (Curtis and Gamble, 2007;Carrillo et al, 2009). Some of these effects occur at relatively small spatial scales, such as the upwelling along the east coast of Florida, USA, southern Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic coast of Colombia and Venezuela (Leming and Mooers, 1981;Pitts, 1993;Andrade and Barton, 2005;Zavala-Hidalgo et al, 2006;Lonin et al, 2010).…”

Growth of eight Gambierdiscus (Dinophyceae) species: Effects of temperature, salinity and irradiance

“…These data indicated that systems where terrestrial runoff rapidly reduces salinities to <20 may be particularly stressful for Gambierdiscus species and may select for species tolerant of low salinities. It should be noted that these localized runoff events sometimes occur during the dry season and that plumes caused by runoff from tropical depressions and other episodic rainfall events can extend several km seaward (Lirman and Cropper, 2003;Carrillo et al, 2009). These larger, less frequent events may drive much of the interannual variation in Gambierdiscus abundance in habitats influenced by runoff.…”