TY - JOUR
T1 - Spatial patterns of annual and interannual surface chlorophyll-a variability in the Peru-Chile Current System
AU - Correa-Ramirez, Marco A.
AU - Hormazabal, Samuel E.
AU - Morales, Carmen E.
N1 - Funding Information:
We thank the Ocean Biology Processing Group (Code 614.2) at the GSFC, Greenbelt, MD 20771, for the production and distribution of the SeaWiFS data. This work was supported by the FONDECYT 1070504 Project and the PBCT-CONICYT Project ACT-19. M. Correa-Ramirez was funded by the German Academic Exchange Service DAAD A/02/19911 doctoral scholarship. Helpful comments and suggestions from Fabian Gomez are gratefully acknowledged.
PY - 2012/1
Y1 - 2012/1
N2 - Eleven years of satellite data on surface chlorophyll-a, wind, and altimetry were used to analyze the spatial and temporal variability of the phytoplankton biomass in the Peru-Chile Current System (PCCS; 10-40°S) and to examine the main mechanisms determining this variability. Multitaper Method-Singular Value Decomposition was used to identify statistically significant timescales of variability and to reconstruct their associated spatial patterns. The results indicate that wind stress and Rossby wave propagation govern the annual chlorophyll-a signal in the coastal (<200. km offshore) and transition (up to 80°W) zones. Eddy kinetic energy, which is associated with mesoscale activity, amplifies the annual chlorophyll signal off Peru (10-18°S) and central-southern Chile (30-40°S). In the adjacent oceanic zone (80-90°W), the wind stress curl controls the seasonal increase of chlorophyll-a in austral spring. The interannual chlorophyll-variability is closely associated with El Niño perturbations, which are transmitted from the coast towards the oceanic region via Rossby waves and mesoscale eddies. El Niño signals are observed first off south-central Chile and later off Peru, possibly linked to atmospheric teleconnection with the equatorial region. The ecological implications of regional chlorophyll-a variability are discussed.
AB - Eleven years of satellite data on surface chlorophyll-a, wind, and altimetry were used to analyze the spatial and temporal variability of the phytoplankton biomass in the Peru-Chile Current System (PCCS; 10-40°S) and to examine the main mechanisms determining this variability. Multitaper Method-Singular Value Decomposition was used to identify statistically significant timescales of variability and to reconstruct their associated spatial patterns. The results indicate that wind stress and Rossby wave propagation govern the annual chlorophyll-a signal in the coastal (<200. km offshore) and transition (up to 80°W) zones. Eddy kinetic energy, which is associated with mesoscale activity, amplifies the annual chlorophyll signal off Peru (10-18°S) and central-southern Chile (30-40°S). In the adjacent oceanic zone (80-90°W), the wind stress curl controls the seasonal increase of chlorophyll-a in austral spring. The interannual chlorophyll-variability is closely associated with El Niño perturbations, which are transmitted from the coast towards the oceanic region via Rossby waves and mesoscale eddies. El Niño signals are observed first off south-central Chile and later off Peru, possibly linked to atmospheric teleconnection with the equatorial region. The ecological implications of regional chlorophyll-a variability are discussed.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84155167753&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.pocean.2011.07.008
DO - 10.1016/j.pocean.2011.07.008
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:84155167753
SN - 0079-6611
VL - 92-95
SP - 8
EP - 17
JO - Progress in Oceanography
JF - Progress in Oceanography
ER -