North Atlantic Central Water Research Articles

Thermohaline trends in the Bay of Biscay from Argo floats over the decade 2004–2013

Thermohaline trends along the water column were analyzed by means of Argo float data in the Bay of Biscay over the period 2004–2013. Water occupying the upper 100m was considered as Surface Water (SW). Two deeper water masses were considered: Eastern North Atlantic Central Water (ENACW) and Mediterranean Water (MW). SW was observed to salinificate at a rate of 0.006y−1, while no significant trend was found for temperature. ENACW was found to warm and salinificate at a rate of 0.012°Cy−1 and 0.004y−1, respectively. MW cooling and freshening was observed at a rate of −0.011°Cy−1 and −0.005y−1, respectively. Both temperature and salinity variability were mainly due to intrinsic changes in water masses, except for temperature in the upper part of ENACW, where the vertical uplifting of isopycnals (~80dbar) balances intrinsic changes in this water mass. Comparison with previous research suggests that the observed changes are consistent with those measured along the Western coast of the Iberian Peninsula.

Sedimentary climatic record in the Galician Internal Basin: sediment provenance, transport time and hydrodynamics over the last 60.000 years.

Sedimentary climatic record in the Galician Internal Basin: sediment provenance, transport time and hydrodynamics over the last 60.000 years.

Biogeochemical patterns in the Atlantic Inflow through the Strait of Gibraltar

The effects of tidal forcing on the biogeochemical patterns of surface water masses flowing through the Strait of Gibraltar are studied by monitoring the Atlantic Inflow (AI) during both spring and neap tides. Three main phenomena are defined depending on the strength of the outflowing phase predicted over the Camarinal Sill: non-wave events (a very frequent phenomenon during the whole year); type I Internal wave events (a very energetic event, occurring during spring tides); and type II Internal wave events (less intense, occurring during neap tides).During neap tides, a non-wave event comprising oligotrophic open-ocean water from the Gulf of Cádiz is the most frequent and clearly dominant flow through the Strait. In this tidal condition, the inflow of North Atlantic Central Water (NACW) provides the main nutrient input to the surface layer of the Alboran Sea, supplying almost 70% of total annual nitrate transport to the Mediterranean basin. A low percentage of active and large phytoplankton cells and low average concentrations of chlorophyll (0.3–0.4mgm−3) are found in this tidal phase. Around 50% of total annual phytoplankton biomass transport into the Mediterranean Sea through the Strait presents these oligotrophic characteristics.In contrast, during spring tides, patches of water with high chlorophyll levels (0.7–1mgm−3) arrive intermittently, and these are recorded concurrently with the passage of internal waves coming from the Camarinal Sill (type I internal wave events). When large internal waves are arrested over the Camarinal Sill this implies strong interfacial mixing and the probable concurrent injection of coastal waters into the main channel of the Strait. These processes result in a mixed water column in the AI and can account for around 30% of total annual nitrate transport into the Mediterranean basin. Associated with type I internal wave events there is a regular inflow of large and active phytoplankton cells, transported in waters with relatively high nutrient concentrations, which constitutes a significant supply of planktonic resources to the pelagic ecosystem of the Alboran Sea (almost 30% of total annual phytoplankton biomass transport).

Habitat characterization of deep-water coral reefs in La Gaviera Canyon (Avilés Canyon System, Cantabrian Sea)

Surveys conducted at the complex Avilés Canyon System (southern Bay of Biscay) in order to identify vulnerable habitats and biological communities revealed the presence of noteworthy deep-water coral reefs in one of the tributaries of the system (La Gaviera Canyon). The aim of the present study is to determine why this deep-sea canyon provides suitable environmental conditions for corals to grow. This hanging canyon is characterized by an irregular U-shaped floor with two narrow differentiated flanks. Sand ripples and rocky outcrops structured in diverse W–E directed steps are observed on the canyon floor, suggesting intense hydrodynamic activity. Accordingly, high-frequency near-bottom current and thermal structure profiles showed that there occur strong shifts in currents/hydrography behaving as front-like features at each tidal cycle. These involve the sudden increase of along-axis velocities to over 50cm/s and vertical velocities of over 5cm/s in each tidal cycle associated with the passage of sharp thermal fronts and thermal inversions suggesting overturning. A year-long near-bottom current record showed events with near-bottom velocities well over 1m/s lasting for several days.Three cold-water coral settings were distinguished: a dense coral reef located on stepped rocky bottoms of the eastern and western flanks, carbonate mounds (20–30m high) located on the canyon floor, and a cluster of shallower water dead coral framework at the head sector of the canyon. Video and still images from a towed sled and ROV verified the presence of dropstones and rippled sand sheets surrounding the mounds and revealed changes in the coral population (alive or dead; total or patchy coverage) in coral reef and carbonate mound areas. The dominant species of the reef are Lophelia pertusa and Madrepora oculata, which considerably increase the habitat′s complexity and biodiversity in relation to other facies described in the canyon. The presence of living cold-water reefs is directly related to a high-energy environment at depths between 700 and 1200m in the levels between the lower bound of Eastern North Atlantic Central Water (ENACW) and the core of Mediterranean Water (MW). Such level matches the water density range σθ=27.35–27.65kgm−3 which has been identified as limits for cold-water coral distribution in the North Atlantic.

Ocean-atmosphere climate shift during the mid-to-late Holocene transition

Climate records of the mid-to-late Holocene transition, between 3–4 thousand years before present (ka), often exhibit a rapid change in response to the gradual change in orbital insolation. Here we investigate North Atlantic Central Water circulation as a possible mechanism regulating the latitudinal temperature gradient (LTG), which, in turn, amplifies climate sensitivity to small changes in solar irradiance. Through this mechanism, sharp climate events and transitions are the result of a positive feedback process that propagates and amplifies climate events in the North Atlantic region. We explore these linkages using an intermediate water temperature record reconstructed from Mg/Ca measurements of benthic foraminifera (Hyalinea balthica) from a sediment core off NW Africa (889 m depth) between 0 to 5.5 ka. Our results show that Eastern North Atlantic Central Waters (ENACW) cooled by ∼1°±0.7 °C and densities decreased by σθ=0.4±0.2 between 3.3 and 2.6 ka. This shift in ENACW hydrography illustrates a transition towards enhanced mid-latitude atmospheric circulation after 2.7 ka in particular during cold events of the late-Holocene. The presented records demonstrate the important role of ENACW circulation in propagating the climate signatures of the LTG by reducing the meridional heat transfer from high to low latitudes during the transition from the Holocene Thermal Maximum to the late-Holocene. In addition, the dynamic response of ENACW circulation to the gradual climate forcing of LTGs provides a prime example of an amplifying climate feedback mechanism.

Changes in ENACW observed in the Bay of Biscay over the period 1975–2010

Trends in Eastern North Atlantic Central Water (ENACW) were calculated in the Bay of Biscay over the period 1975–2010 using the Simple Ocean Data Assimilation (SODA) package. This approach, which reanalyzes data from different sources, allows obtaining information beneath the sea surface on a fine 0.5°×0.5° grid with 40 vertical layers, providing a complete view of the different hydrographic processes in the area. ENACW, which was associated to salinity and temperature values corresponding to the density interval 27.0–27.2kgm−3, was observed to warm and salinificate in most of the area at a maximum rate of 0.11°C per decade and 0.03psu per decade, respectively. Trends are more intense in the middle part of the Bay and near the northeastern boundary. The origin of the changes in ENACW observed inside the Bay of Biscay is not due to local effects. Actually, trends seem to be related to changes in the subpolar mode of ENACW (ENACWsp), affecting a wider North Atlantic area. The highest trends (0.3°C per decade in temperature and 0.05psu per decade in salinity) were observed north of the bay, especially at the shallow area that stretches from Brest to Ireland, which is characterized by deep winter mixing. The dependence of changes in ENACW on the two main modes of variability over the North Atlantic (NAO and EA) was also analyzed. Trends in salinity and temperature showed to be consistent with changes observed in EA. In addition, air temperature and precipitation minus evaporation (P−E) balance showed to contribute to warming and salinification of ENACW.

Millennial scale coccolithophore paleoproductivity and surface water changes between 445 and 360 ka (Marine Isotope Stages 12/11) in the Northeast Atlantic

A high resolution coccolithophore study was carried out in order to improve the understanding of the paleoceanographic evolution and changes in paleoproductivity occurring off the Iberian Margin (IM) between 445 and 360ka, i.e. during late Marine Isotope Stage 12 to 11. Coccolithophore assemblages allowed reconstructing surface water changes characterized by millennial-scale oscillations (~1.5kyr cycles) involving Portugal or Iberian Poleward Currents (PC and IPC) prevalence. Changes in paleoproductivity, possibly related to the upwelling of Eastern North Atlantic Central Waters (ENACW) – of sub-tropical (ENACWst) or sub-polar origin (ENACWsp) – were also recognized. This study also permitted detecting abrupt events (stadial/interstadial-type oscillations) and revealed that changes in paleoproductivity are related to opposite dynamics during glacial and interglacial stages, with the reversed setting being established during the deglaciation. Furthermore, a possible control of half and fourth precessional cycle components, on the occurrence of abrupt changes within the assemblages' structure, during the deglaciation, is proposed on the basis of wavelet analysis results applied to selected taxa.

Seasonality of intermediate waters hydrography west of the Iberian Peninsula from an 8 yr semiannual time series of an oceanographic section

Abstract. Seasonality of hydrographical properties at depth in the western Iberian margin (eastern North Atlantic) is analysed from a 2003–2010 time series of a semiannual oceanographic section extending ∼200 nm off Cape Finisterre (43° N). All water masses down to the permanent thermocline (2000 dbar) show a consistent seasonal signature in their thermohaline properties and there is a notable asymmetry between the slope region and the outer ocean (in the surroundings of the Galicia Bank). There is overall cooling and freshening of eastern North Atlantic central waters in summertime, which is larger and deeper-reaching on the slope. In summertime, Mediterranean Water (MW) gets tightly attached against the slope and is uplifted, reinforcing its thermohaline signature and diminishing its presence at the outer ocean. In wintertime the situation reverses, MW seems to detach from the slope and spreads out to the open ocean, even being observed a secondary branch around the Galicia Bank. Thermohaline seasonality at depth shows values up to 0.4 °C and 0.08 in salinity at the lower MW, of the order of 20% of the overall interannual variability observed during the whole period. Decomposition of thermohaline changes at isobaric levels to changes along isoneutral surfaces and changes due to vertical displacements help analyse the physical processes behind the observed seasonality in terms of (1) the large-scale seasonality of the subtropical gyre in response to the seasonal migration of the subtropical high pressure system and subsequent anomalies in Ekman transport and wind stress curl, (2) the continental slope dynamics, characterized by summer upwelling, winter development of the Iberian Poleward Current and Mediterranean water spreading, and (3) the possible influence of seasonal changes of water mass properties at their formation sources.

Decadal changes in the mid-depth water mass dynamic of the Northeastern Atlantic margin (Bay of Biscay)

The lithium/magnesium (Li/Mg) molar ratios, radiocarbon measurements (Δ14C) and Nd-isotopic composition (εNd) of the aragonite skeleton of a branching cold-water coral (CWC) species Madrepora oculata collected alive in the Bay of Biscay at ∼691m water depth were investigated to reconstruct a robust record of the mid-depth water mass dynamics between 1950 and 1990 AD. Temperature estimates based on the skeletons Li/Mg molar ratios reveal small decadal changes of about 1°C at thermocline depth synchronous to and of similar amplitude as surface temperature anomalies. Δ14C measurements shows quasi-decadal oscillations of 15‰ around pre-bomb Δ14C average value of −59±6‰ and post-bomb Δ14C of −12±6‰, which most likely reflect decadal changes of water mass exchange across the thermocline. The coral εNd values remain in narrow ranges of −11.9 to −10.2, similar to the isotopic composition of East North Atlantic Central Water, but show highest values in the late 1950s, and early 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s. The punctuated changes of the coral Nd-isotopic composition may thus reflect periods of particular enhanced advection of temperate intermediate water (mid-depth Subpolar Gyre/Mediterranean Sea Water). Altogether, our robust multi-proxy record provides new evidence that Northern Hemisphere atmospheric variability (such as, North Atlantic Oscillation and East Atlantic pattern) drives changes not only in the thermocline but also in the mid-depth water-mass advection patterns in the Northeastern Atlantic margin. However, the interannual variability of our record remains to be tested.

A High-Resolution Coral-Based Δ14C Record of Surface Water Processes in the Western Mediterranean Sea

The first high-resolution time series of pre- and post-bomb radiocarbon measurements is reported for surface waters in the western Mediterranean Sea. The Δ14C record was obtained from the aragonite skeleton of Cladocora caespitosa using a 50-yr-old corallite collected in the Ligurian Sea in 1998. Laser-ablation ICP measurements of trace elements (Li/Mg and Sr/Ca) show a strong seasonal variability, enabling the chronology of the Δ14C record to be determined at annual timescales. The mean Δ14C of pre-bomb surface water is -56 ± 3%, corresponding to a reservoir age of 262 ± 29 yr. The post-bomb maximum occurs in 1972 with a Δ14C value of 90%, significantly lower than the peak of 150% observed in the North Atlantic. The dilution of the peak-amplitude of Δ14C in western Mediterranean surface waters is attributed to mixing of North Atlantic Central Water inflow with relatively depleted underlying Intermediate Mediterranean and Levantine Intermediate waters. Intensification of this mixing is observed in 1963–1964, consistent with the change in atmospheric circulation from a positive to negative NAO phase (1960–1967). The post-peak Δ14C variability is relatively limited, reflecting mainly local vertical mixing forced by wind stress.

Influence of upwelling events on the estuaries of the north-western coast of the Iberian Peninsula

Coastal upwelling is one of the best studied oceanographic phenomena because of its effects on primary production. The western coast of the Iberian Peninsula has high biological diversity, mainly due to this primary production. In this study, the response of salinity and temperature to the occurrence of upwelling was analysed at the Ria de Vigo– and Ria de Aveiro–ocean boundary over the course of a year. Both systems were influenced by similar external forcing, but the response of thermohaline properties differed. Salinity and temperature were dependent on external forcing throughout the water column at Ria de Aveiro, whereas near-bed measurements revealed the presence of upwelled water at Ria de Vigo. Eastern North Atlantic Central Water was observed during spring–summer (summer) at the southern (northern) mouth of Ria de Vigo, but it was not observed at Ria de Aveiro. This difference may be due to the shallowness and narrowness of the Ria de Aveiro mouth, which can limit the entrance of ocean water. The trends found are unlikely to be unique, suggesting that geomorphologic characteristics of system–ocean boundaries determine how physical processes occurring in adjacent coastal areas impact estuarine properties.

A High-Resolution Coral-Based Δ14C Record of Surface Water Processes in the Western Mediterranean Sea

The first high-resolution time series of pre- and post-bomb radiocarbon measurements is reported for surface waters in the western Mediterranean Sea. The Δ14C record was obtained from the aragonite skeleton of Cladocora caespitosa using a 50-yr-old corallite collected in the Ligurian Sea in 1998. Laser-ablation ICP measurements of trace elements (Li/Mg and Sr/Ca) show a strong seasonal variability, enabling the chronology of the Δ14C record to be determined at annual timescales. The mean Δ14C of pre-bomb surface water is –56 ± 3‰, corresponding to a reservoir age of 262 ± 29 yr. The post-bomb maximum occurs in 1972 with a Δ14C value of 90‰, significantly lower than the peak of 150‰ observed in the North Atlantic. The dilution of the peak-amplitude of Δ14C in western Mediterranean surface waters is attributed to mixing of North Atlantic Central Water inflow with relatively depleted underlying Intermediate Mediterranean and Levantine Intermediate waters. Intensification of this mixing is observed in 1963–1964, consistent with the change in atmospheric circulation from a positive to negative NAO phase (1960–1967). The post-peak Δ14C variability is relatively limited, reflecting mainly local vertical mixing forced by wind stress.

Boron isotope and radiocarbon evidence for deglacial overturning and carbon cycling in the subpolar North Pacific

The lithium/magnesium (Li/Mg) molar ratios, radiocarbon measurements (Δ14C) and Nd-isotopic composition (εNd) of the aragonite skeleton of a branching cold-water coral (CWC) species Madrepora oculata collected alive in the Bay of Biscay at ∼691 m water depth were investigated to reconstruct a robust record of the mid-depth water mass dynamics between 1950 and 1990 AD. Temperature estimates based on the skeletons Li/Mg molar ratios reveal small decadal changes of about 1 °C at thermocline depth synchronous to and of similar amplitude as surface temperature anomalies. Δ14C measurements shows quasi-decadal oscillations of 15‰ around pre-bomb Δ14C average value of −59±6‰ and post-bomb Δ14C of −12±6‰, which most likely reflect decadal changes of water mass exchange across the thermocline. The coral εNd values remain in narrow ranges of −11.9 to −10.2, similar to the isotopic composition of East North Atlantic Central Water, but show highest values in the late 1950s, and early 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s. The punctuated changes of the coral Nd-isotopic composition may thus reflect periods of particular enhanced advection of temperate intermediate water (mid-depth Subpolar Gyre/Mediterranean Sea Water). Altogether, our robust multi-proxy record provides new evidence that Northern Hemisphere atmospheric variability (such as, North Atlantic Oscillation and East Atlantic pattern) drives changes not only in the thermocline but also in the mid-depth water-mass advection patterns in the Northeastern Atlantic margin. However, the interannual variability of our record remains to be tested.

Massive iceberg discharges during Termination V: causes and consequences

A high resolution coccolithophore study was carried out in order to improve the understanding of the paleoceanographic evolution and changes in paleoproductivity occurring off the Iberian Margin (IM) between 445 and 360 ka, i.e. during late Marine Isotope Stage 12 to 11. Coccolithophore assemblages allowed reconstructing surface water changes characterized by millennial-scale oscillations (~ 1.5 kyr cycles) involving Portugal or Iberian Poleward Currents (PC and IPC) prevalence. Changes in paleoproductivity, possibly related to the upwelling of Eastern North Atlantic Central Waters (ENACW) – of sub-tropical (ENACWst) or sub-polar origin (ENACWsp) – were also recognized. This study also permitted detecting abrupt events (stadial/interstadial-type oscillations) and revealed that changes in paleoproductivity are related to opposite dynamics during glacial and interglacial stages, with the reversed setting being established during the deglaciation. Furthermore, a possible control of half and fourth precessional cycle components, on the occurrence of abrupt changes within the assemblages' structure, during the deglaciation, is proposed on the basis of wavelet analysis results applied to selected taxa.

Southward shift of North Atlantic central water during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) and Heinrich Stadial 1

Southward shift of North Atlantic central water during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) and Heinrich Stadial 1

Response of eastern tropical Atlantic central waters to Atlantic meridional overturning circulation changes during the Last Glacial Maximum and Heinrich Stadial 1

Benthic foraminiferal δ18O and Mg/Ca of sediment cores off tropical NW Africa are used to study the properties of Atlantic central waters during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) and Heinrich Stadial 1 (HS1). We combined our core top data with published results to develop a new Mg/Ca‐temperature calibration forPlanulina ariminensis, which shows a Mg/Ca‐temperature sensitivity of 0.19 mmol/mol per °C. Estimates of the LGM and HS1 thermocline temperatures are comparable to the present‐day values between 200 and 400 m water depth, but were 1.2–1.5°C warmer at 550–570 m depth. The HS1 thermocline waters (200–570 m depth) did not show any warming relative to the LGM. This is in contrast to previous climate model studies, which concluded that tropical Atlantic thermocline waters warmed significantly when Atlantic meridional overturning circulation was reduced. However, our results suggest that thermocline temperatures of the northeastern tropical Atlantic show no pronounced sensitivity to changes in the thermohaline circulation during glacial periods. In contrast, we find a significant increase in thermocline‐water salinity during the LGM (200–550 m depth) and HS1 (200–400 m depth) with respect to the present‐day, which we relate to changes in the wind‐driven circulation. We infer that the LGM thermocline (200–550 m depth) and the HS1 upper thermocline (200–400 m depth) in the northeastern tropical Atlantic was ventilated by surface waters from the North Atlantic rather than the southern‐sourced waters. This suggests that the frontal zone between the modern South Atlantic and North Atlantic Central Waters was probably shifted southward during the LGM and HS1.

The continental slope current system between Cape Verde and the Canary Islands

We use hydrographic, velocity and drifter data from a cruise carried out in November 2008 to describe the continental slope current system in the upper thermocline (down to 600 m) between Cape Verde and the Canary Islands. The major feature in the region is the Cape Verde Frontal Zone (CVFZ), separating waters from tropical (southern) and subtropical (northern) origin. The CVFZ is found to intersect the slope north of Cape Blanc, between 22°N and 23°N, but we find that southern waters are predominant over the slope as far north as 24°N. South of Cape Blanc (21.25°N) the Poleward Undercurrent (PUC) is a prominent northward jet (50 km wide), reaching down to 300 m and indistinguishable from the surface Mauritanian Current. North of Cape Blanc the upwelling front is found far offshore, opening a near-slope northward path to the PUC. Nevertheless, the northward PUC transport decreases from 2.8 Sv at 18°N to 1.7 Sv at 24°N, with about 1 Sv recirculating ofshore just south of Cape Blanc, in agreement with the trajectory of subsurface drifters. South of the CVFZ there is an abrupt thermohaline transition at σ ϴ =26.85 kg m –3 , which indicates the lower limit of the relatively pure (low salt and high oxygen content) South Atlantic Central Water (SACW) variety that coexists with the dominant locally-diluted (salinity increases through mixing with North Atlantic Central Water but oxygen diminishes because of enhanced remineralization) Cape Verde (SACWcv) variety. At 16°N about 70% of the PUC transport corresponds to the SACW variety but but this is transformed into 40% SACWcv at 24°N. However, between Cape Verde and Cape Blanc and in the 26.85 ϴ < 27.1 layer, we measure up to 0.8 Sv of SACWcv being transported south. The results strongly endorse the idea that the slope current system plays a major role in tropical-subtropical water-mass exchange.

Upwelling filaments off Cap Blanc: Interaction of the NW African upwelling current and the Cape Verde frontal zone eddy field?

The hydrographical and dynamical properties of the upwelling filaments forming off Cap Blanc (Mauritania) are investigated using remotely sensed and in situ data collected in April/May 2009 during the strongest upwelling season. The area is situated at the southern edge of the NW African upwelling system, where the Cape Verde Frontal Zone (CVFZ) separates warmer, saltier North Atlantic Central Water (NACW) and cooler, fresher South Atlantic Central Water (SACW). Sea surface temperature images indicated the presence of an upwelling filament extending &gt;280 km offshore, rooted over the Cap Blanc promontory and entrained around a warm‐core anticyclonic eddy. After this filament started to decay, a new cold filament developed at the approximate same location. High resolution Moving Vessel Profiler (MVP) and Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler (ADCP) surveys of these mesoscale structures revealed that both filaments were carrying South Atlantic Central Water (SACW) offshore through an intense jet‐like flow. Similarity of the relative vorticity structure across the filament with that of the tangent eddy suggested that the latter was responsible for the offshore current. Tracking of this eddy in altimetric data demonstrated that it originated from the CVFZ, as implied by its hydrographic structure. Altimetric data also revealed that another anticyclonic structure centered over the Cap Blanc promontory was responsible for the northwestward advection of SACW into the base of the filament. The results support the idea that some upwelling filaments can be produced by the interaction of an external eddy field, including topographic eddies, with the upwelled water.

Water column characterisation on the Azores platform and at the sea mounts south of the archipelago

This study provides data concerning the hydrography and water chemistry of the Atlantic region between 29–38° N and 27–31° W, and establishes background values for dissolved Cu, Cd, Pb and As. Three water masses were identified: the Eastern North Atlantic Central Water (ENACW), the Mediterranean Water (MW) and the North Atlantic Deep Water (NADW). The ENACW exhibits a clear meridional gradient of temperature and salinity, with comparatively high values at the southern sites and lower values on the Azores platform. The ENACW, which includes the euphotic zone, also had comparatively high concentrations of oxygen and lower concentrations of nutrients and metals. The Cu, Cd and Pb results suggest that new background concentrations for OSPAR Region V (the Wider Atlantic) should be established as follows: 0.15–13nM for Cu, 0.05–1.4nM for Cd and 0.03–5nM for Pb. The background concentrations of As for OSPAR Region V should be 7–28nM.

Submesoscale, tidally-induced biogeochemical patterns in the Strait of Gibraltar

Tidal forcing and its fortnightly variation are known to be one of the main regulating agents of physical and biogeochemical signatures in the Strait of Gibraltar and surrounding areas. Samples obtained during spring and neap tides in the region were analyzed to determine the influence of this tidal variation on the submesoscale distribution of water masses and biological elements. During spring tides, strong and intermittent mixing processes between Mediterranean and Atlantic waters occur in the vicinity of the Camarinal Sill together with an eastward advection of those mixed waters into the Alboran Sea. Furthermore, the intense suction of surface coastal waters into the main channel of the strait was detected as chlorophyll patches in the Alboran Sea during spring tides. In contrast, the most characteristic phenomenon during neap tides was the arrival of pulses of relatively nutrient-rich North Atlantic Central Waters to the surface regions of the Alboran Sea. In addition, traces of the suction of coastal waters were observed for the first time during neap tides. Therefore, our results show that submesoscale processes are crucial in the dynamics of the Strait of Gibraltar, and they must be considered for the correct description of the biogeochemical features of Alboran Sea, especially during an inactive period of the coastal upwelling.