Abstract
The California Current System is characterized by upwelling and rich mesoscale eddy activity. Cyclonic eddies generally pinch off from meanders in the California Current, potentially trapping upwelled water along the coast and transporting it offshore. Here, we use satellite-derived measurements of particulate organic carbon (POC) as a tracer of coastal water to show that cyclones located offshore that were generated near the coast contain higher carbon concentrations in their interior than cyclones of the same amplitude generated offshore. This indicates that eddies are in fact trapping and transporting coastal water offshore, resulting in an offshore POC enrichment of 20.9 ± 11 Gg year−1. This POC enrichment due to the coastally-generated eddies extends for 1000 km from shore. This analysis provides large-scale observational-based evidence that eddies play a quantitatively important role in the offshore transport of coastal water, substantially widening the area influenced by highly productive upwelled waters in the California Current System.
Highlights
The California Current System is characterized by upwelling and rich mesoscale eddy activity
We use 13 years of satellite-derived measurements of POC28 as a tracer of coastal water to show that eddies can play an important role in redistributing carbon from the coastal region to offshore areas in the California Current System (CCS) (Fig. 1)
Meanders and filaments[29] extending westward from the California Current are often distinguished by elevated particulate organic carbon (POC) concentrations as they initiate the offshore transport of coastal water (Fig. 1a)
Summary
The California Current System is characterized by upwelling and rich mesoscale eddy activity. We use satellitederived measurements of particulate organic carbon (POC) as a tracer of coastal water to show that cyclones located offshore that were generated near the coast contain higher carbon concentrations in their interior than cyclones of the same amplitude generated offshore This indicates that eddies are trapping and transporting coastal water offshore, resulting in an offshore POC enrichment of 20.9 ± 11 Gg year−1. By using satellite-derived measurements of POC as a tracer of coastal water, we show that cyclonic eddies located offshore that were generated near the coast contain higher carbon concentrations in their interior than cyclonic eddies of the same amplitude generated locally offshore, contributing to the enrichment of POC in the offshore region
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