The Costa Rica Coastal Current, eddies and wind forcing in the Gulf of Tehuantepec, Southern Mexican Pacific

Abstract

The hydrographic structure and circulation of the Southern Mexican Pacific, from August 31 to September 24 2004, when tropical atmospheric activity was at its peak, was analyzed based on AVISO absolute dynamic topography and an array of 106 CTD profiles, within an area of about 500km×500km between Punta Maldonado and Puerto Chiapas. The surveyed area was occupied by mesoscale anticyclonic and cyclonic eddies that determined the path of water with temperature and salinity characteristic of the Costa Rica Coastal Current. The origin of each eddy was investigated with respect to QuikSCAT wind conditions. The sequence of AVISO images and wind data showed that the largest anticyclonic eddies originated outside the Gulf of Tehuantepec through mechanisms distinct from local wind forcing, although two northerly wind events in the Gulf of Tehuantepec possibly had an influence on the smallest anticyclonic and cyclonic eddies. The relative position of each eddy allowed the flow of relatively low temperature and salinity water (the Costa Rica Coastal Current) into and throughout the Gulf of Tehuantepec, converging at about Puerto Angel with relatively high temperature and salinity water moving from the west.