High chlorophyll-a concentration events related to vertical stratification variability during the dry season in the Western Margin of the Gulf of Tehuantepec
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Abstract
Five high chlorophyll-a concentration events, > 2.3 mg m-3, developed from December 2011 to March 2012, are analyzed in the context of the observed vertical stratification variability created by the interaction of wind and the coastal mesoscale circulation at La Boquilla, a point in the Western Margin of the Gulf of Tehuantepec. The analysis is based on records of temperature at 5 and 24 m depth, water velocity profiles, wind velocity at a nearby meteorological station, Level 3 MODIS-Aqua daily chlorophyll-a concentration, and daily ASCAT winds. Most of the high chlorophyll-a concentration events occurred when mesoscale cyclonic circulation was close to La Boquilla, under westerly wind stress τ > 0.02 N m-2. Each high chlorophyll-a event succeeded the dissipation of a thermal front and the development of a two-layer exchange between the western margin and the central gulf. The highest chl-a concentration occurred when upwelling and mixing modified the stratification. The modest high chl-a concentration occurred when mixing alone modified the stratification.
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