Upwelling dynamics and cold-water filaments off the Senegal and Mauritania coasts [résumé] (original) (raw)
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Spatial and temporal dynamics of the upwelling off Senegal and Mauritania : local change and trend
L'élaboration d'une chaîne de traitement spécifique aux données infrarouge thermique des satellites de la série METEOSAT a été réalisée. L'abondance des données satellitales liées à la répétitivité des observations permet d'accéder à une résolution de 5 jours et 6 km, soit très en deçà des méthodes d'investigation utilisables en routine en océanographie côtière. La description spatio-temporelle précise et régulière de l'upwelling côtier de la Mauritanie à la Guinée est ainsi accessible depuis 1984. La zone étudiée est soumise à la très forte saisonnalité de l'upwelling côtier, lequel présente aussi de fortes anomalies interannuelles. La connaissance de la structure des champs thermiques superficiels permet de relier la position moyenne des zones de remontée à la topographie du plateau continental. La détermination de la TSM sur une bande continue centrée sur le maximum de résurgence permet le calcul d'indices d'upwelling spatialisés et de caractér...
Upwelling off southern Senegal and Gambia takes place over a wide shelf with a large area where depths are shallower than 20 m. This results in typical upwelling patterns that are distinct (e.g., more persistent in time and aligned alongshore) from those of other better known systems, including Oregon and Peru where inner shelves are comparatively narrow. Synoptic to superinertial variability of this upwelling center is captured through a 4-week intensive field campaign, representing the most comprehensive measurements of this region to date. The influence of mesoscale activity extends across the shelf break and far over the shelf where it impacts the midshelf upwelling (e.g., strength of the upwelling front and circulation), possibly in concert with wind fluctuations. Internal tides and solitary waves of large amplitude are ubiquitous over the shelf. The observations suggest that these and possibly other sources of mixing play a major role in the overall system dynamics through their impact upon the general shelf thermohaline structure, in particular in the vicinity of the upwelling zone. Systematic alongshore variability in thermohaline properties highlights important limitations of the 2D idealization framework that is frequently used in coastal upwelling studies.
Dynamics of a "low-enrichment high-retention" upwelling center over the southern Senegal shelf
Senegal is the southern tip of the Canary upwelling system. Its coastal ocean hosts an upwelling center which shapes sea surface temperatures between latitudes 12 ∘ and 15 ∘ N. Near this latter latitude, the Cape Verde headland and a sudden change in shelf cross-shore profile are major sources of heterogeneity in the southern Senegal upwelling sector (SSUS). SSUS dynamics is investigated by means of Regional Ocean Modeling System simulations. Configuration realism and resolution (Δx ≈ 2 km) are sufficient to reproduce the SSUS frontal system. Our main focus is on the 3-D upwelling circulation which turns out to be profoundly different from 2-D theory: cold water injection onto the shelf and upwelling are strongly concentrated within a few tens of kilometers south of Cape Verde and largely arise from flow divergence in the alongshore direction; a significant fraction of the upwelled waters are retained nearshore over long distances while travelling southward under the influence of northerly winds. Another source of complexity, regional-scale alongshore pressure gradients, also contributes to the overall retention of upwelled waters over the shelf. Varying the degree of realism of atmospheric and oceanic forcings does not appreciably change these conclusions. This study sheds light on the dynamics and circulation underlying the recurrent sea surface temperature pattern observed during the upwelling season and offers new perspectives on the connections between the SSUS physical environment and its ecosystems. It also casts doubt on the validity of upwelling intensity estimations based on simple Ekman upwelling indices at such local scales.
The regional ocean circulation along the Southern Senegal shelf is studied using a numerical model for varying forcing fields during the upwelling season (November-May). The main objective is to study the shelf circulation of the marine environment in the Southern Senegal Upwelling Shelf (SSUS), the Lagrangian pathways by which waters are transported to the surface in the upwelling tongue and the fate of these waters. Model results are compared with hydrographic measurements during UPSEN2-ECOAO survey and satellite images datasets. The upwelling source waters and also the warm nearshore waters are analyzed, from a Lagrangian point of view, by computing the paths of particles that are passively advected by the regional ocean model velocity field (ROMS). It was found that the model is capable of representing the main characteristics of the SSUS whose Sea Surface Temperature (SST) patterns and their variability have an important similarities but the assessment of the current simulated by the model is less obvious because of the few available observations. The present results suggest that high frequency of wind has a strong influence over the mesoscale patterns of the cross-shore circulation in association with local topography and the presence of the Cape Verde peninsula. These cross-shore circulations are dominated by an onshore flow around 14.5°N and an offshore flow around 14.1°N. The onshore flow is in agreement with the previous eulerian studies regarding the coastal divergence of the surface flow (upwelling) that was strongly localized within a few tens of kilometers south of the Cape Verde in the Hann Bight. Lagrangian experiments show also very clearly that coastal warm waters are upwelling waters that were advected from Hann Bight and underwent a strong warming by the heat flux from the atmosphere to the ocean in a shallow area (∼10 m); therefore, easy to warm up. All numerical solutions have shown a tendency of upwelling particles remaining on the shelf for more than a month. These results may explain the enrichment of water in the SSUS and suggest the need to consider the whole shelf as a retention area.
African Journal of Environmental Science and Technology
The regional ocean circulation along the Southern Senegal shelf is studied using a numerical model for varying forcing fields during the upwelling season (November-May). The main objective is to study the shelf circulation of the marine environment in the Southern Senegal Upwelling Shelf (SSUS), the Lagrangian pathways by which waters are transported to the surface in the upwelling tongue and the fate of these waters. Model results are compared with hydrographic measurements during UPSEN2-ECOAO survey and satellite images datasets. The upwelling source waters and also the warm nearshore waters are analyzed, from a Lagrangian point of view, by computing the paths of particles that are passively advected by the regional ocean model velocity field (ROMS). It was found that the model is capable of representing the main characteristics of the SSUS whose Sea Surface Temperature (SST) patterns and their variability have an important similarities but the assessment of the current simulated by the model is less obvious because of the few available observations. The present results suggest that high frequency of wind has a strong influence over the mesoscale patterns of the crossshore circulation in association with local topography and the presence of the Cape Verde peninsula. These cross-shore circulations are dominated by an onshore flow around 14.5°N and an offshore flow around 14.1°N. The onshore flow is in agreement with the previous eulerian studies regarding the coastal divergence of the surface flow (upwelling) that was strongly localized within a few tens of kilometers south of the Cape Verde in the Hann Bight. Lagrangian experiments show also very clearly that coastal warm waters are upwelling waters that were advected from Hann Bight and underwent a strong warming by the heat flux from the atmosphere to the ocean in a shallow area (∼10 m); therefore, easy to warm up. All numerical solutions have shown a tendency of upwelling particles remaining on the shelf for more than a month. These results may explain the enrichment of water in the SSUS and suggest the need to consider the whole shelf as a retention area.
Spatial and temporal seasonal trends in coastal upwelling off Northwest Africa, 1981–2012
Deep Sea Research Part I: Oceanographic Research Papers, 2014
Seasonal coastal upwelling was analyzed along the NW African coastline (11-351N) from 1981 to 2012. Upwelling magnitudes are calculated by wind speed indices, sea-surface temperature indices and inferred from meteorological station, sea-surface height and vertical water column transport data. A permanent annual upwelling regime is documented across 21-351N and a seasonal regime across 12-191N, in accordance with the climatology of previous studies. Upwelling regions were split into three zones: (1) the Mauritania-Senegalese upwelling zone (12-191N), (2) the strong permanent annual upwelling zone (21-261N) and (3) the weak permanent upwelling zone (26-351N). We find compelling evidence in our various indices for the Bakun upwelling intensification hypothesis due to a significant coastal summer wind speed increase, resulting in an increase in upwelling-favorable wind speeds north of 201N and an increase in downwelling-favorable winds south of 201N. The North Atlantic Oscillation plays a leading role in modifying interannual variability during the other seasons (autumn-spring), with its influence dominating in winter. The East Atlantic pattern shows a strong correlation with upwelling during spring, while El Niño Southern Oscillation and Atlantic Multi-decadal Oscillation teleconnections were not found. A disagreement between observationally-based wind speed products and reanalysisderived data is explored. A modification to the Bakun upwelling intensification hypothesis for NW Africa is presented, which accounts for the latitudinal divide in summer wind regimes. Fig. 3. The monthly climatology (1981-2010) for the Mauritania-Senegalese upwelling zone (12-191N, blue line), permanent upwelling zone (21-261N, red line) and the weak permanent upwelling zone (26-351N, green line) for the seven UI W (units: m 3 s À 1 100 m À 1 ) and three UI ΔSST (units: 1C) indices. Error bars on the individual months highlight the (1s) monthly variability. (For interpretation of the references to color in this figure legend, the reader is referred to the web version of this article.)
SST patterns and dynamics of the southern Senegal-Gambia upwelling center
The southern end of the Canary current system comprises of an original upwelling center that has so far received little attention, the Southern Senegal-Gambia Upwelling Center (SSUC). We investigate its dynamical functioning by taking advantage of favorable conditions in terms of limited cloud coverage. Analyses and careful examinations of over 1500 satellite images of sea surface temperature scenes contex-tualized with respect to wind conditions confirm the regularity and stability of the SSUC dynamical functioning (as manifested by the recurrence and persistence of particular SST patterns). The analyses also reveal subtle aspects of its upwelling structure: shelf break cooling of surface waters consistent with internal tide breaking/mixing; complex interplay between local upwelling and the Mauritanian current off the Cape Verde headland; complexity of the inner-shelf/mid shelf frontal transition. The amplitude of the diurnal cycle suggests that large uncertainties exist in the SSUC heat budget. The studies limitations underscore the need for continuous in situ measurement in the SSUC, particularly of winds.
Deep Sea Research, 1977
From February to April 1974, 16 hydrographic sections were occupied along 21 40'N over .the continental shelf and slope off northwest Africa. A zonal array of current meters, some with surface buoys carrying thermographs and anemometers, was moored along the hydrographic line between 15 and 100km from the coast. Five upwelling events, i.e. periods of enhanced upwelling, occurred in response to changes in the wind. The two most intensely sampled events, which lasted more than a week, exhibited a complex development. Aerial surveys of sea surface temperature indicated that the development was similar within at least 80km along the coast. Upwelled water appeared initially over the inner shelf but, with continuing favorable winds, the center of upwelling migrated to the shelf break. The current measurements provided further evidence of upwelling over the shelf break. Midshelf and shelf break moorings indicated a two-layer zonal flow regime during the events. The lower, shorewardflowing layer was strongly convergent, consistent with upwelling over the outer shelf and shelf break.