Role of the California Undercurrent in the export of denitrified waters from the eastern tropical North Pacific

Castro, Carmen G.; Chávez, Francisco P.; Collins, Curtis A.

doi:10.1029/2000gb001324

Cited by 70 publications

(62 citation statements)

References 54 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…On density surfaces (not shown), these differences between dissolved oxygen for inflowing and outflowing waters disappeared for potential density anomalies greater than 25 kg m À 3 (70-90 m). The strong oxycline and low oxygen (4 10 mmol kg À 1 ) below about 250 m are a distinctive characteristic of these waters (Castro et al, 2001). …”

Section: Southern Sectionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Properties of an upper ocean front associated with water mass boundaries at the entrance to the Gulf of California, November 2004

Collins

Castro²,

Mascarenhas³

2015

Deep Sea Research Part II: Topical Studies in Oceanography

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

a b s t r a c tThe structure of an upper ocean front at the entrance to the Gulf of California is described. The front occurred in a region of strong cyclonic shear between fresher Pacific waters, which flowed into the Gulf along Sinaloa, and salty Gulf of California waters, which flowed out of the Gulf along Baja California. Observations included two high-resolution hydrographic sections across the entrance to the Gulf. One section used a towed CTD that profiled from near surface to 125 m. A second across-Gulf section was obtained using CTDs spaced about every 10 km. Both sections indicated a nearly vertical salinity front near 108.61W, which extended to a depth of 120 m at the northern front. The surface salinity change across the front was ΔS$0.4 and the width of the front 10-15 km. The surface horizontal mixing ratio, À 0.15 to À 0.7, indicated that salinity dominated the density change. The mixed layer was strongly developed to a depth of $ 45 m. Features that were observed at the front included a surface jet (10 km wide, 0.25 m s À 1 ), subduction from the mixed layer to the top of the pycnocline, evidence of symmetric instability driven by atmospheric cooling of surface waters, and a deformation rate of À 0.5 Â 10 À 5 s À 1 . Northward ageostrophic currents in the upper 60 m extended inflow 55 km to the west of the surface front. Immediately below the bottom of the mixed layer, the seasonal pycnocline was characterized by a 15-m thick and 50-km wide salinity maximum (minimum), S ¼ 34.9-35 (S ¼34.3-34.4) for the outflow (inflow). These features were not distinct in the frontal zone. Temperature flux and diffusivity were estimated to be about 7.6 Â 10 À 2 1C m s À 1 and 8600 m 2 s À 1 , respectively.Published by Elsevier Ltd.

show abstract

Section: Southern Sectionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Properties of an upper ocean front associated with water mass boundaries at the entrance to the Gulf of California, November 2004

Collins

Castro²,

Mascarenhas³

2015

Deep Sea Research Part II: Topical Studies in Oceanography

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Local-scale conditions typically create regions of increased prey density through physical aggregation or local nutrient enhancement where seabirds can efficiently find adequate prey (Bakun 1996, Becker & Beissinger 2003. For example, warmer ENSO years often exhibit decreased upwelling and/or upwelling of nutrient poor equatorial waters (Castro et al 2001), while non-ENSO (cool) years exhibit an increase in upwelling and primary productivity (Chavez et al 2002). Indices of basin-wide and local-scale conditions typically vary annually with moderate to little interannual autocorrelation.…”

Section: Abstract: Stable Isotope · Marbled Murrelet · Seabird · Diementioning

confidence: 99%

Ocean climate and prey availability affect the trophic level and reproductive success of the marbled murrelet, an endangered seabird

Becker¹,

Peery²,

Beissinger³

2007

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

“…N * is a function of the inorganic nitrate to phosphate ratio and an indicator of denitrification (Gruber & Sarmiento, 1997). This signature is transported poleward from the northeastern tropical Pacific to central California via the CUC (Castro et al, 2001). The lowest N * (higher denitrification; more water from the northeastern tropical Pacific) was observed during June and July 1997.…”

Section: Remote Forcing and The Evolution Of California El Niño Effectsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A significant proportion of the waters that feed the coastal upwelling circulation originate in the northeastern tropical Pacific (Castro, Chavez, & Collins, 2001) and are transported poleward in the California Under-current (CUC). Off California coastal upwelling occurs seasonally (Huyer, 1983).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Biological and chemical consequences of the 1997–1998 El Niño in central California waters

Chávez

Pennington

Castro

et al. 2002

Progress in Oceanography

232

189

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Role of the California Undercurrent in the export of denitrified waters from the eastern tropical North Pacific

Cited by 70 publications

References 54 publications

Properties of an upper ocean front associated with water mass boundaries at the entrance to the Gulf of California, November 2004

Properties of an upper ocean front associated with water mass boundaries at the entrance to the Gulf of California, November 2004

Ocean climate and prey availability affect the trophic level and reproductive success of the marbled murrelet, an endangered seabird

Biological and chemical consequences of the 1997–1998 El Niño in central California waters

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About