Oxygen in the Iberian margin: A modeling study

20 páginas, 13 figuras, 1 tabla Highly productive eastern boundary coastal upwelling areas provide interesting environments to study the physical–biological interactions that govern dissolved oxygen (O2O2) dynamics. The Iberian Upwelling System is located in the northern limit of the North East Atla...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Progress in Oceanography
Main Authors: Reboreda, Rosa, Castro, Carmen G., Álvarez-Salgado, Xosé Antón, Nolasco, Rita, Cordeiro, Nuno G. F., Queiroga, Henrique, Dubert, Jesús
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2015
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Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/10261/111779
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pocean.2014.09.005
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Summary:20 páginas, 13 figuras, 1 tabla Highly productive eastern boundary coastal upwelling areas provide interesting environments to study the physical–biological interactions that govern dissolved oxygen (O2O2) dynamics. The Iberian Upwelling System is located in the northern limit of the North East Atlantic upwelling region, along the Iberian margin off Portugal and Spain. It presents a marked seasonality in the hydrodynamics and it is under the influence of water masses of different origin. Here, we describe the seasonal variability and spatial patterns of O2O2 in this system taking advantage of the 3-dimensional (3D) ocean model Regional Ocean Modeling System (ROMS). The model has been satisfactorily validated and has allowed a sound 3D description of the O2O2 dynamics of the coast and adjacent ocean, showing a strong seasonality in the O2O2 concentration of the upper water column. This seasonality is mainly caused by the deepening and shoaling of the seasonal mixed layer from winter to summer. O2O2 concentration is high during winter and reaches maximum values in spring due to the seasonal phytoplankton bloom. Minimum O2O2 values are obtained in summer and autumn. Additionally, the regional circulation of Eastern North Atlantic Central Water (ENACW) noticeably influences the O2O2 distribution. Over the shelf and slope, more variability is introduced by the intense hydrodynamics of the upwelling season (spring/summer), the slope poleward flow (autumn/winter) and continental runoff This work was supported by Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT), Portugal, through the PhD Grant SFRH/BD/33388/2008 to R.R. The study is a contribution to the RAIA project (“Observatorio oceánico del margen ibérico”, POCTEP-FEDER, 0520_-RAIA_CO_1_E), which financed a fellowship to N.C. X.A.A.S. was also funded by the project CAIBEX, Grant No. CTM2007-66408-C02-01/MAR. We also thank CSIC for providing the data of the two stations sampled within the frame of the project DYBAGA, Grant No. MAR99-1039-C02-01 Peer reviewed