Abstract. The European Regional Seas Ecosystem Model (ERSEM) is one of the most established ecosystem models for the lower trophic levels of the marine food web in the scientific literature. Since its original development in the early nineties it has evolved significantly from a coastal ecosystem model for the North Sea to a generic tool for ecosystem simulations from shelf seas to the global ocean. The current model release contains all essential elements for the pelagic and benthic parts of the marine ecosystem, including the microbial food web, the carbonate system, and calcification. Its distribution is accompanied by a testing framework enabling the analysis of individual parts of the model. Here we provide a detailed mathematical description of all ERSEM components along with case studies of mesocosm-type simulations, water column implementations, and a brief example of a full-scale application for the north-western European shelf. Validation against in situ data demonstrates the capability of the model to represent the marine ecosystem in contrasting environments.

A series of granitoids yielding Permo-Triassic ages (287-232 Ma) extend northwest-southeast along the entire length of Mexico and across various terrane boundaries. The intrusives range from diorites to granodiorites and their major and trace element geochemistry is typical of magmas produced in magmatic arcs. Initial eNd values of the granitoids vary from -4.4 to +2.5, indicating that they were emplaced through evolved continental crust. The Permo-Triassic granitoids constrain the time of amalgamation of the older eastward terranes of Mexico to pre-Permian times, and support interpretations that terranes to the west are a collage of juvenile Triassic or Cretaceous arcs. Paleogeographic reconstructions of the previously unrecognized Permo-Triassic arc in Mexico suggest that the subduction was east-dipping along the western margin of Pangea. This Permo-Triassic arc marks a change in the tectonics of Mexico from domination by circum-Atlantic collisions to accretionary tectonics of circum-Pacific terranes.

The hydrographical and dynamical properties of the upwelling filaments forming off Cap Blanc (Mauritania) are investigated using remotely sensed and in situ data collected in April/May 2009 during the strongest upwelling season. The area is situated at the southern edge of the NW African upwelling system, where the Cape Verde Frontal Zone (CVFZ) separates warmer, saltier North Atlantic Central Water (NACW) and cooler, fresher South Atlantic Central Water (SACW). Sea surface temperature images indicated the presence of an upwelling filament extending >280 km offshore, rooted over the Cap Blanc promontory and entrained around a warm‐core anticyclonic eddy. After this filament started to decay, a new cold filament developed at the approximate same location. High resolution Moving Vessel Profiler (MVP) and Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler (ADCP) surveys of these mesoscale structures revealed that both filaments were carrying South Atlantic Central Water (SACW) offshore through an intense jet‐like flow. Similarity of the relative vorticity structure across the filament with that of the tangent eddy suggested that the latter was responsible for the offshore current. Tracking of this eddy in altimetric data demonstrated that it originated from the CVFZ, as implied by its hydrographic structure. Altimetric data also revealed that another anticyclonic structure centered over the Cap Blanc promontory was responsible for the northwestward advection of SACW into the base of the filament. The results support the idea that some upwelling filaments can be produced by the interaction of an external eddy field, including topographic eddies, with the upwelled water.

[1] The objective of this paper is to investigate if the assimilation of ocean color data into a complex marine ecosystem model can improve the hindcast of key biogeochemical variables in shelf seas. A localized Ensemble Kalman filter was used to make a yearlong assimilation of weekly satellite chlorophyll data into a three-dimensional ecosystem model of the western English Channel. The skill of assimilation was evaluated with respect to non assimilated in situ data using twelve time series of biogeochemical observations collected weekly at the monitoring station L4. It was found that the assimilation scheme reduced the root mean square error and increased the correlation with the spatial distributions of the assimilated chlorophyll data, with respect to the reference run. More significantly, the skill metrics for non assimilated variables indicate that the hindcast of the mean data values at L4 was improved; however improvements in the short term forecast were not discernable. On the basis of our application, we provide general recommendations for the successful application of ocean color assimilation to hindcast key biogeochemical variables in shelf seas.

[1] Cape Finisterre is the most northwest point in the Galician region and separates the meridional west and zonal north coasts of Galicia. The wind field there has high spatial and temporal variability throughout the year. No clear seasonal signal is evident; upwelling and nonupwelling patterns alternate in all seasons. Two outstanding features of the Galician region are persistent upwelling near Cape Finisterre even when not present farther south and alternation of strong upwelling on north and west coasts. Up to now, explanations have relied upon particular dynamics of oceanic flow past Finisterre. We find that major features of upwelling around Finisterre are related to strong spatial structure in the wind field. Analysis of QuikScat wind data for July 1999 to May 2001 shows strong repeatable patterns in the synoptic wind field. These wind patterns emerge as the combination of the two dominant modes in a complex empirical orthogonal function (CEOF) analysis representing over 85% of the variance. Summer wind patterns give rise to characteristic distributions of upwelling along the coast and favor development of filaments in particular locations. The wind measured at Finisterre itself, often used as a general indicator of upwelling conditions around the Galician coast, is not always representative of the overall wind field. The relevant wind fields allowed a qualitative explanation of temperature structure seen in sea surface temperature images, and of differences in both the upwelling and downwelling regimes between the two years.INDEX TERMS: 4227 Oceanography: General: Diurnal, seasonal, and annual cycles; 4279 Oceanography: General: Upwelling and convergences; 4516 Oceanography: Physical: Eastern boundary currents; 4504 Oceanography: Physical: Air/sea interactions (0312); KEYWORDS: SeaWinds, coastal upwelling, sea surface temperature, air-sea coupling, Iberia, wind patterns Citation: Torres, R., E. D. Barton, P. Miller, and E. Fanjul, Spatial patterns of wind and sea surface temperature in the Galician upwelling region,