Distribución espacio-temporal de la temperatura, salinidad y oxígeno disuelto alrededor del Domo Térmico de Costa Rica

Abstract

Spatio-temporal distribution of temperature, salinity and dissolved oxygen around the Costa Rica Thermal Dome. The Costa Rica Thermal Dome (CRTD) is an oceanographic phenomenon in the Eastern Tropical Pacific (ETP). This is a region of very high biological productivity, resulting in high concentrations of phytoplankton, sea birds, and large pelagics, such as tunas, dolphins and whales. Few publications have looks at the station variability of the water column of the CRTD. Here, horizontal and vertical distribution of some oceanic parameters was analyzed to show the dynamics of ETP, its influence on the CRTD, climatic variations and relationships that justify their distributions. Climatological monthly mean data of Ocean Data view (ODv) from 1900 to 2009 were used to compile profiles of the water column's temperature, salinity and dissolved oxygen, and their spatial distributions around the Costa Rica Thermal Dome (CRTD). Monthly variations of these parameters depend on the intensity and extent of ocean-meteorological phenomena in the Eastern Tropical Pacific (ETP), which are related to the north-south migration of Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ). The monthly climatic variation of these variables is analyzed down to 200 m depth. Increased climate variability is found in the water column at stations north and east of the CRTD. The two stations north of the CRTD, closer to the coast, are the ones most affected by the wind in front of the Gulf of Papagayo and where the greatest monthly upwelling variation occurs in this region. The distribution and concentration of dissolved oxygen depends on the ocean-atmospheric dynamics. Oxygen is consumed by respiration and organic matter oxidation around CRTD. Moreover, this is one of the regions of the tropical oceans where an Oxygen Minimum Zone (OMZ) exist, which is related also to poor water circulation or lack ocean ventilation. Sources of dissolved oxygen are linked with sub-surface currents coming from the west and from the south of the geographic equator. Rev. Biol. Trop. 64 (Suppl. 1): S135-S152. Epub 2016 February 01.

Distribution of the deep-sea genus Bathypterois (Pisces: Ipnopidae) in the Eastern Central Pacific

“…Bathypterois ventralis was strongly influenced by shallower sites, with lower DO concentrations and warmer Bathypterois grallator (878-3 492 m, 2.7-13.5 °C) and B. pectinatus (700-2 100 m, 2.9-3.7 ° C) inhabit similar depth and temperature intervals to those sampled during TALUD Project (200-2 330 m; 1.9-14.8 °C), however these species were not recorded throughout this project. The Northern records for both species throughout the EP matches with the "Costa Rican Dome", an environmental transition zone off Central America (9° N -10 °N), characterized by convergent water masses from the South and North Pacific and deep water vertically moved to the surface (0-2 500 m), producing an upwelling zone that may be is a physiological barrier for the latitudinal distribution of these species (Sulak, 1977;Fiedler & Talley, 2006;Lizano, 2016). Bathypterois longipes was recorded at depths between 2 615 m and 5 610 m, however, trawls at these depths are scarce in ECP, even the TALUD project, so its presence cannot be ruled out in this region.…”

Climate change and tropical marine ecosystems: A review with an emphasis on coral reefs

“…One such region is known as El Domo Térmico de Costa Rica, or "The Costa Rican Dome" located off the Pacific coast of Costa Rica (Fig. 8) (Jiménez, 2016;Lizano, 2016). Here wind patterns cause a seasonal doming of the thermocline, bringing nutrients from deep water to the surface to stimulate productivity.…”

“…While oxygen is plentiful at the surface, between 400-600 m below the surface almost all of the oxygen is consumed by respiration of the organic matter that sinks from the surface (Fig. 8) (Lizano, 2016). With ocean warming, OMZs such as this one are likely to intensify and expand in thickness, which may interfere with how marine animals utilize this site as a feeding ground (Jiménez, 2016).…”

Distribución de temperatura y salinidad en campañas oceanográficas recientes en el Pacífico Tropical Oriental de Costa Rica

“…marinas protegidas en Costa Rica (Isla del Coco), Panamá (Coiba), Ecuador (Galápagos) y Colombia (Mal Pelo y Gorgona), que se pretende extender a otras áreas en México (Revillagigedo) y territorios ultramarinos de Francia (Clipperton). Investigaciones de la dinámica del Pacífico Tropical del Este (PTE) comenzaron con los trabajos de Wyrtki (1964;1966;1967) y ampliados luego por Brenes (1984); Kessler (2006); Fiedler & Talley (2006); Amador, Alfaro, Lizano, & Magaña (2006); Willett, Leben, & Lavín (2006); Lizano (2008;2016); Amador, Rivera, Durán-Quesada, Mora, Sáenz, Calderón & Mora (2016a) y Amador, Durán-Quesada, Rivera, Mora, Sáenz, Calderón & Mora (2016b). De estos trabajos se resume que la dinámica de la región está ligada a los fuertes vientos que atraviesan los pasos topográficos de Tehuantepec al sur de México, el Golfo de Papagayo en el Pacífico norte de Costa Rica y el Golfo de Panamá.…”