Rossby wave and ocean color: The cells uplifting hypothesis in the South Atlantic Subtropical Convergence Zone

Abstract

Rossby waves signatures on filtered ocean color data are detected in the subtropical convergence zone of the South Atlantic ocean. We investigate whether these chlorophyll anomalies can be accounted for by the uplifting mechanism of phytoplanktonic cells associated with the passage of a Rossby wave. We consider vertical chlorophyll profiles exhibiting a subsurface chlorophyll maximum typical of the South Atlantic Subtropical Convergence Province. Chlorophyll remotely‐sensed concentrations resulting from an academic uplifting of the three chlorophyll profiles are reconstructed with a radiative transfer model. Amplitude of the chlorophyll enrichments found with this hypothesis (0.06 mg chl.m−3) compares well with propagative ocean color anomalies detected in the SeaWiFS data. However, other processes such as the Rototiller effect [Siegel, 2001] or advection of chlorophyll gradients could also play a non negligible role.