Upwelling in the Gulf of Ulloa, Baja California, Mexico: recent findings and comparisons with other upwelling regions

• Main Authors: Trasviña, Armando, Barton, Eric D., González, E., Cosío, M. A.
• Format: Still Image
• Language: English
• Published: 2008
• Subjects: Baja; Las Palmas; Pacific; North Atlantic
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10261/330685

Póster.-- Eastern boundary upwelling ecosystems: integrative and comparative approaches, 2-6 June 2008, Las Palmas, Gran Canaria, Spain The Gulf of Ulloa in the west coast of Baja California is one of the few shelf seas of the Mexican Pacific, and one of the more productive upwelling regions in Mexico. The high-productivity regime develops every spring-summer but it is modulated by intense inter-annual variation. We use several years of satellite-derived sea surface temperatures, 10+ years of altimetry-derived geostrophic currents and the historical hydrographic and drifter data base to describe the main features of the circulation. The California Current is an important seasonal influence that approaches the coast every winter-spring season to modify the coastal circulation and the composition of the coastal waters. A seasonal poleward coastal flow also exerts significant influence on both seasonal and inter-annual time scales. During ENSO 1997-1998 a poleward coastal current flooded the Gulf of Ulloa with warm tropical waters beyond the normal season. Evidence of previous occurrences is found in the historical data. A productivity model incorporating results from a dynamic model show how the seasonal poleward flow modulates the productivity of the coastal ocean. Extreme events contribute to dramatic losses in productivity. The local fisheries industry reported economic losses of 70+ million dollars after the 1997-1998 ENSO. A comparison with upwelling zones at similar latitudes in the North Atlantic Ocean highlights a number of significant morphological and dynamic features No