Climate variability over the reef corridor of the southwestern Gulf of Mexico

Abstract

RESUMENLas tendencias climáticas locales y regionales impulsarán las tasas de cambio en los ecosistemas costeros. Se caracterizaron series temporales de 35 años de duración de la temperatura del aire, la humedad relativa y la precipitación en el sistema arrecifal del suroeste del Golfo de México. Los datos provinieron de un modelo climatológico, pero para evaluar su fluctuación local, las diferencias con los registros in situ se estimaron cuando los registros estuvieron disponibles. Las tres variables mostraron coherencia con el registro de alta presión del sistema de alta presión del Atlántico norte en tiempos similares y en periodos de 4 a 8 y > 10 años, lo que evidencia la influencia, a escala regional, de las señales de El Niño Oscilación del Sur (ENOS) y la Oscilación Multidecadal del Atlántico (AMO). Las anomalías positivas y negativas mostraron tendencias lineales que representan un aumento de eventos más cálidos y húmedos dentro de una climatología estacional en el área de estudio del Golfo de México, y presentaron una correlación relativamente alta (> 0.5) con el modo AMO. Los periodos de retorno de valores extremos variaron de 5 a 10 años. En general, las tendencias y los eventos extremos mostraron patrones similares a escala regional, pero el aumento de la lluvia puede ser mayor en la ubicación central del área de estudio. Una mayor frecuencia de eventos extremos podría amenazar los ecosistemas locales y a la población. Son necesarios planes y acciones de gobierno a escala local para lograr una adaptación preventiva al clima.ABSTRACT Local and regional climate trends drive rates of change in coastal ecosystems. To better understand local climate, 35-year-long time series of air temperature, relative humidity and rainfall were analyzed along the reef corridor of the southwestern Gulf of Mexico. Data came from a climatological model and to assess its local performance, differences with in situ records were estimated when available. All three variables showed coherence with the record of the North Atlantic high-pressure system (also known as the Bermuda High) at similar times and periods between 4 to 8 and >10 years, evidencing the influence, at this regional scale, of El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation (AMO). Positive and negative anomalies showed linear trends depicting an increase of warmer and moister events during a seasonal climatology at the reef corridor of the southwestern Gulf of Mexico and a relatively higher correlation (> 0.5) with the AMO mode. Return periods of extreme values varied between 5 and 10 years. In general, trends and extreme events showed similar patterns at a regional scale, but the increase in rainfall is expected to be larger near the central location of the study area. A higher frequency of extreme events could threaten local ecosystems and human populations; therefore, plans and actions at local scales of governance are needed to achieve preemptive climate adaptation.

Dataset on meteorological forcing mechanisms impacting marine circulation and oceanographic variables in the northern part of the Veracruz reef system

“…These instruments were strategically located at the extremities of the reefs within the study area. This placement was based on the hypothesis that the high-frequency circulation patterns around the Veracruz Reef System (VRS) are influenced by wind patterns [ 4 , 5 ], which in turn, should impact plankton biovolumes. Moreover, the currents observed in this region are primarily wind-driven and further rectified by the presence of coral reefs and islands [4] .…”

Functional diversity in reef fish assemblages in the Parque Nacional Sistema Arrecifal Veracruzano, Mexico: Temporal and spatial changes

“…Following the hierarchical scheme of Ortiz-Lozano et al (2009), on a seascape scale, the PNSAV was divided into two large regions, associated with the contours of depth and the water currents. The inner shelf (IS) region is located between the 10 m and the 25 m depth contour and is defined by the presence of marine currents that move parallel to the coast with latitudinal and seasonal variations (Salas-Peŕez and Granados-Barba, 2008). The outer shelf (OS) region presents depths > 25 m up to the limit of the continental shelf and includes waters free from the shelf, where the water currents exhibit only local movements, not parallel to the coast (Ray and Hyden, 1992).…”

Could the Plume of Tuxpan River Influence the Norther Reefs of the Reef Corridor of The Southwestern Gulf of Mexico?

“…The rains originate from the arrival of tropical air masses to this region, as well as from the interaction with the orography, their season occurs in summer, a season dominated by the passage of tropical atmospheric systems in the Gulf of Mexico and in the South Pacific, mainly in the Gulf of Tehuantepec. Tropical cyclones are frequent in the rainy season until reaching their maximum in September, before descending to minimum values in November [7,8]. The study was doing on summer of 2005, the rainy season, which was a year of maximum rainfall (117 mm-357 mm) in the reef corridor of the southwestern Gulf of Mexico.…”

“…River Tuxpan have a summer discharge associated to the rainfall season >139 m 3 /s, which is greater than the Jamapa and Coatzacoalcos rivers, located in front of the Parque Nacional Sistema Arrecifal Veracruzano (PNSAV) and los Tuxtlas reefs (TR), respectively [6,7]. The rain in the year of 2005 in the reef corridor of the southwestern Gulf of Mexico 2005, was higher than in 24 hrs.…”

“…The rain in the year of 2005 in the reef corridor of the southwestern Gulf of Mexico 2005, was higher than in 24 hrs. than the general reported average monthly accumulation rain in the study area, inducing strong river discharges of the most im portant rivers (Tuxpan, Jamapa and Coatzacoalcos rivers) of the coastal zone of the Veracruz state [3,[6][7][8]. There aren´t previous studies which focuses to study the Tuxpan plume River and its influence over the reefs, so in this study, satellite data will be used to study the plume of the Tuxpan River: sea surface temperature, extension, and geometry and its influence on the reef system of the same name (Figure 1).…”