Hydrographic variability off the Rias Baixas (NW Spain) during the upwelling season

• Published in: Journal of Geophysical Research
• Main Authors: Álvarez-Salgado, Xosé Antón, Rosón, Gabriel, Pérez, Fiz F., Pazos, Yolanda
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: American Geophysical Union 1993
• Subjects: North Atlantic
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10261/169631; https://doi.org/10.1029/93JC00458

9 pages, 9 figures, 1 table During the Galicia X cruise, from May to October 1989 an intensive collection of hydrographic data was carried out at a single station on the shelf off the western coast of Galicia. It allows us to follow the response of the water column to the intermittent equatorward wind stress during the upwelling season. Upwelling events occur with biweekly periodicity, bringing Eastern North Atlantic Water (ENAW) to the subsurface layer at our station. A trend of the thermohaline properties of the upwelled water to increase in time was observed. This seems to be mostly due to the southwestward displacement of the origin of this water mass during the year. Although the saltier and warmer ENAW is less nutrient‐rich, nutrient levels increase because of the rapid remineralization of organic matter from the Rías, which takes place in the bottom water on the shelf Support for this work came from CICYT grant MAR88-0245 and Conselleria de Pesca de la Xunta de Galicia. Peer reviewed