Temporal and spatial fluctuations of sea surface temperature and chlorophyll a levels due to atmospheric forcing in a tropical coastal lagoon
The temporal and spatial fluctuations of sea surface temperatu re (SST) and chlorophyll a (Chl a ) levels due to atmospheric forcing in Mexico’s third largest tropica l coastal lagoon (Tamiahua Lag oon), located in the western Gul f of Mexico, was examined from July 2002 to May 2012. The main hypoth...
| Autores: | , |
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| Tipo de recurso: | artículo |
| Estado: | Versión publicada |
| Fecha de publicación: | 2016 |
| País: | México |
| Institución: | Universidad Veracruzana |
| Repositorio: | Redalyc-UV |
| OAI Identifier: | oai:redalyc.org:48044829004 |
| Acceso en línea: | https://www.redalyc.org/articulo.oa?id=48044829004 |
| Access Level: | acceso abierto |
| Palabra clave: | Ciencias de la Tierra El Niño heat fluxe s annual scale pre cipitation Tamiahua Lagoon |
| Sumario: | The temporal and spatial fluctuations of sea surface temperatu re (SST) and chlorophyll a (Chl a ) levels due to atmospheric forcing in Mexico’s third largest tropica l coastal lagoon (Tamiahua Lag oon), located in the western Gul f of Mexico, was examined from July 2002 to May 2012. The main hypothesis of t his study is that SST and Chl a levels are modulated by the exch ange of heat fluxes from the a tmosphere and by rainfall (river runoff). The atm osphere supplies heat (555.0 5 ± 42.31 W m –2 ) to Tamiahua Lagoon, which impli es that the temperature of the lagoon over the period analyzed (~2 7 ºC) was higher than normal in the coastal zone. Precipitation regulates Chl a levels during the rainy season because the cross-correla tion values were high ( r > 0.61) and the phase lag of the rainy season with the Chl a time series was typically 0 to –1 month. El Niño/Southern Oscil lation phases affe cted the rainf all patterns and, thus, Chl a concentrations in the lagoon. As expected, the lagoon showed eutrophic conditions throughout the year (Chl a concentrations >5 mg m –3 ), with maximum values in the summer, when warm and wet conditions prevail. The a nnual scale is responsible for most of the variability in the two data sets. Seasonally, both oceanographic data sets showed three different water types, which, in both cases, were more variable at the sout hern and northern inlets and more homogenous in the central part of the lagoon. |
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