The Effects of Wind on Upwelling off Cabo Catoche

Abstract

ABSTRACT Reyes-Mendoza, O.; Marino-Tapia, I.; Herrera-Silveira, J.; Ruiz-Martinez, G.; Enriquez, C., and Largier, J.L., 2016. The effects of wind on upwelling off Cabo Catoche. Upwelling of cold, nutrient-rich waters at the NE corner of the Yucatan Peninsula is known to enhance productivity over the Yucatan Shelf, fueling fisheries and harboring the largest global aggregation of whale sharks. Nevertheless, the physical processes that control this upwelling and the spreading of upwelled waters onto the Yucatan Shelf are not well known, particularly near the coast. In this study, upwelling behavior close to the coast was characterized, and the contribution of wind was assessed. Time series of wind, air and ocean temperatures, sea level, and current velocities from two moorings were analyzed. Wavelet transforms showed cold-water pulses with timescales that vary across the seasons and also between the shallower site (8 m) and the deeper site (12 m), with a broader range of periodicities observed further offsh...