The co-influence of the sea breeze and the coastal upwelling at Cabo Frio: a numerical investigation using coupled models

Abstract

A B S T R A C TA coupled atmospheric-oceanic model was used to investigate whether there is a positive feedback between the coastal upwelling and the sea breeze at Cabo Frio -RJ (Brazil). Two experiments were performed to ascertain the influence of the sea breeze on the coastal upwelling: the first one used the coupled model forced with synoptic NE winds of 8 m s -1 and the sign of the sea breeze circulation was set by the atmospheric model; the second experiment used only the oceanic model with constant 8 m s -1 NE winds. Then, to study the influence of the coastal upwelling on the sea breeze, two more experiments were performed: one using a coastal upwelling representative SST initial field and the other one using a constant and homogeneous SST field of 26°C. Finally, two more experiments were conducted to verify the influence of the topography and the spatial distribution of the sea surface temperature on the previous results. The results showed that the sea breeze can intensify the coastal upwelling, but the coastal upwelling does not intensify the sea breeze circulation, suggesting that there is no positive feedback between these two phenomena at Cabo Frio. R E S U M OUm modelo acoplado atmosférico-oceânico foi usado para investigar se há retroalimentação positiva entre a ressurgência costeira e a brisa marítima em Cabo Frio -RJ (Brasil). Dois experimentos foram realizados para verificar a influência da brisa marítima na ressurgência costeira: o primeiro usou o modelo acoplado, forçado com vento de escala sinótica de NE e 8 m s -1 , e o sinal da brisa foi dado pelo modelo atmosférico; o segundo utilizou apenas o modelo oceânico com vento constante de NE e 8 m s -1 . A fim de estudar a influência da ressurgência costeira na brisa marítima, mais dois experimentos foram realizados com o modelo acoplado: um com um campo inicial de temperatura da superfície do mar (TSM), representativo da ocorrência de ressurgência costeira; e o outro com um campo constante e homogêneo de TSM de 26°C. Por fim, mais dois experimentos foram feitos para verificar a influência da topografia e da distribuição espacial da temperatura da superfície do mar nos resultados anteriores. Os resultados mostraram que a brisa pode intensificar a ressurgência, mas a ressurgência não intensifica a brisa, sugerindo não haver em Cabo Frio, retroalimentação positiva entre esses dois fenômenos.

Multivariate Analysis of Extreme Physical, Biological and Chemical Patterns in the Dynamics of Aquatic Ecosystem

“…Thus, the coastal upwelling should intensify the OA interaction processes in this region whose consequences are not yet known [34]- [36]. According [34] the sea-breeze is stronger October-March, when the upwelling occurs, and weaker April-September, when there is no upwelling.…”

Modelling the impact of Baltic Sea upwelling on the atmospheric boundary layer

“…For example, the presence of upwelling can cause a sea-breeze like circulation to be superimposed on the synoptic flow, potentially weakening the alongshore component of the wind field (e.g. Ribeiro et al, 2011). However, such effects should be of second order importance for the current study.…”