The formation of a subsurface anticyclonic eddy in the Peru‐Chile Undercurrent and its impact on the near‐coastal salinity, oxygen, and nutrient distributions

Abstract

AbstractThe formation of a subsurface anticyclonic eddy in the Peru‐Chile Undercurrent (PCUC) in January and February 2013 is investigated using a multiplatform four‐dimensional observational approach. Research vessel, multiple glider, and mooring‐based measurements were conducted in the Peruvian upwelling regime near 12°30'S. The data set consists of >10,000 glider profiles and repeated vessel‐based hydrography and velocity transects. It allows a detailed description of the eddy formation and its impact on the near‐coastal salinity, oxygen, and nutrient distributions. In early January, a strong PCUC with maximum poleward velocities of ∼0.25 m/s at 100–200 m depth was observed. Starting on 20 January, a subsurface anticyclonic eddy developed in the PCUC downstream of a topographic bend, suggesting flow separation as the eddy formation mechanism. The eddy core waters exhibited oxygen concentration of <1 μmol/kg, an elevated nitrogen deficit of ∼17 μmol/L, and potential vorticity close to zero, which seemed to originate from the bottom boundary layer of the continental slope. The eddy‐induced across‐shelf velocities resulted in an elevated exchange of water masses between the upper continental slope and the open ocean. Small‐scale salinity and oxygen structures were formed by along‐isopycnal stirring, and indications of eddy‐driven oxygen ventilation of the upper oxygen minimum zone were observed. It is concluded that mesoscale stirring of solutes and the offshore transport of eddy core properties could provide an important coastal open ocean exchange mechanism with potentially large implications for nutrient budgets and biogeochemical cycling in the oxygen minimum zone off Peru.