Articles | Volume 13, issue 15
https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-13-4389-2016
© Author(s) 2016. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-13-4389-2016
© Author(s) 2016. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
Seasonal variability of the oxygen minimum zone off Peru in a high-resolution regional coupled model
Oscar Vergara
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
Laboratoire d'Études en Géophysique et Océanographie
Spatiales, CNRS/IRD/CNES/UPS, UMR5566, Toulouse, France
Boris Dewitte
Laboratoire d'Études en Géophysique et Océanographie
Spatiales, CNRS/IRD/CNES/UPS, UMR5566, Toulouse, France
Departamento de Biología, Facultad de Ciencias del Mar,
Universidad Católica del Norte, Coquimbo, Chile
Millennium Nucleus for Ecology and Sustainable Management of Oceanic
Islands (ESMOI), Coquimbo, Chile
Centro de Estudios Avanzado en Zonas Áridas (CEAZA), Coquimbo,
Chile
Ivonne Montes
Instituto Geofísico del Perú (IGP), Lima, Perú
Veronique Garçon
Laboratoire d'Études en Géophysique et Océanographie
Spatiales, CNRS/IRD/CNES/UPS, UMR5566, Toulouse, France
Marcel Ramos
Departamento de Biología, Facultad de Ciencias del Mar,
Universidad Católica del Norte, Coquimbo, Chile
Millennium Nucleus for Ecology and Sustainable Management of Oceanic
Islands (ESMOI), Coquimbo, Chile
Centro de Estudios Avanzado en Zonas Áridas (CEAZA), Coquimbo,
Chile
Aurélien Paulmier
Laboratoire d'Études en Géophysique et Océanographie
Spatiales, CNRS/IRD/CNES/UPS, UMR5566, Toulouse, France
Oscar Pizarro
Department of Geophysics, University of Concepción, Concepción, Chile
Millennium Institute of Oceanography, University of Concepción, Concepción, Chile
Related authors
Mathilde Cancet, Florence Birol, Oscar Vergara, Quentin Dagneaux, Fabien Léger, François Bignalet-Cazalet, Jean-Alexis Daguze, Ergane Fouchet, Alexandre Homerin, Claire Maraldi, Fernando Niño, Marie-Isabelle Pujol, and Ngan Tran
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 18, 2319–2347, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-18-2319-2026, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-18-2319-2026, 2026
Short summary
Short summary
Observing sea level variations at high resolution is paramount for coastal scientific, societal and economic issues. ALTICAP (ALTimetry Innovative Coastal Approach Product) is a new product of Sea Level Anomaly derived from Jason-3 20 Hz along track satellite altimetry and benefiting from the most recent corrections. It covers all coastal ocean up to 500 km from land, from February 2016 to July 2021. It also provides collocated altimetric significant wave height and wind speed.
Elisa Carli, Rosemary Morrow, Oscar Vergara, Robin Chevrier, and Lionel Renault
Ocean Sci., 19, 1413–1435, https://doi.org/10.5194/os-19-1413-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/os-19-1413-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Oceanic eddies are the structures carrying most of the energy in our oceans. They are key to climate regulation and nutrient transport. We prepare for the Surface Water and Ocean Topography mission, studying eddy dynamics in the region south of Africa, where the Indian and Atlantic oceans meet, using models and simulated satellite data. SWOT will provide insights into the structures smaller than what is currently observable, which appear to greatly contribute to eddy kinetic energy and strain.
Oscar Vergara, Rosemary Morrow, Marie-Isabelle Pujol, Gérald Dibarboure, and Clément Ubelmann
Ocean Sci., 19, 363–379, https://doi.org/10.5194/os-19-363-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/os-19-363-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Recent advances allow us to observe the ocean from space with increasingly higher detail, challenging our knowledge of the ocean's surface height signature. We use a statistical approach to determine the spatial scale at which the sea surface height signal is no longer dominated by geostrophic turbulence but in turn becomes dominated by wave-type motions. This information helps us to better use the data provided by ocean-observing satellites and to gain knowledge on climate-driving processes.
Marie-Isabelle Pujol, Stéphanie Dupuy, Oscar Vergara, Antonio Sánchez-Román, Yannice Faugère, Pierre Prandi, Mei-Ling Dabat, Quentin Dagneaux, Marine Lievin, Emeline Cadier, Gérald Dibarboure, and Nicolas Picot
Earth Syst. Sci. Data Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-2022-292, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-2022-292, 2022
Manuscript not accepted for further review
Short summary
Short summary
An altimeter sea level along-track level-3 product with a 5 Hz (~1.2 km) sampling is proposed. It takes advantage of recent advances in radar altimeter processing, and improvements made to different stages of the processing chain. Compared to the conventional 1 Hz (~7 km) product, it significantly improves the observability of the short wavelength signal in open ocean and near coast areas (> 5 km). It also contributes to improving high resolution numerical model outputs via data assimilation.
Iván Pérez-Santos, Pamela Linford, Luis Rozas, Osvaldo Artal, Elías Pinilla, Lauren Ross, Patricio Díaz, Marcela Rojas, Guido Mancilla-Gutiérrez, Gabriel Soto, and Ivonne Montes
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2026-2889, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2026-2889, 2026
This preprint is open for discussion and under review for Biogeosciences (BG).
Short summary
Short summary
The ocean deoxygenation has accelerated globally, driven by warming and diminishing deep-water ventilation. The objective of this work is to quantify the contributions of turbulent and diapycnal mixing to water ventilation, as evidenced by upward oxygen transport from deep to subsurface layers in the northern Patagonian fjords. Our results highlight the importance of incorporating turbulence measurements into fjord studies to understand sensitivity to significant oxygen variability.
Maibelin Castillo-Alvarez, Oscar Pizarro, Alain Muñoz-Caravaca, Iván Pérez-Santos, David Carrasco, David Francisco Bustos-Usta, and Laura Castellanos-Torres
Ocean Sci., 22, 1409–1427, https://doi.org/10.5194/os-22-1409-2026, https://doi.org/10.5194/os-22-1409-2026, 2026
Short summary
Short summary
We examine 2003–2022 sea-surface temperature (SST) in Cuba's Jardines de la Reina National Park. Using standard marine heatwave metrics and climate-mode indices, we show how large-scale patterns drive SST changes at different scales and in marine heatwave frequency, duration, and intensity. Findings help explain recent extremes and support reef conservation and early-warning efforts in the Caribbean.
Mathilde Cancet, Florence Birol, Oscar Vergara, Quentin Dagneaux, Fabien Léger, François Bignalet-Cazalet, Jean-Alexis Daguze, Ergane Fouchet, Alexandre Homerin, Claire Maraldi, Fernando Niño, Marie-Isabelle Pujol, and Ngan Tran
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 18, 2319–2347, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-18-2319-2026, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-18-2319-2026, 2026
Short summary
Short summary
Observing sea level variations at high resolution is paramount for coastal scientific, societal and economic issues. ALTICAP (ALTimetry Innovative Coastal Approach Product) is a new product of Sea Level Anomaly derived from Jason-3 20 Hz along track satellite altimetry and benefiting from the most recent corrections. It covers all coastal ocean up to 500 km from land, from February 2016 to July 2021. It also provides collocated altimetric significant wave height and wind speed.
Macarena Díaz-Astudillo, Manuel I. Castillo, Pedro A. Figueroa, Leonardo R. Castro, Ramiro Riquelme-Bugueño, Iván Pérez-Santos, Oscar Pizarro, and Gonzalo S. Saldías
Ocean Sci., 21, 1833–1848, https://doi.org/10.5194/os-21-1833-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/os-21-1833-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
Submarine canyons are known hotspots of marine productivity and biodiversity, but we do not fully understand why. We studied a submarine canyon located in central Chile and found that it is a highly dynamic environment in both space and time. We think that the alternating currents and the contrasting distribution of zooplankton within the canyon might interact to promote zooplankton retention. Our results help to explain why submarine canyons host such high zooplankton diversity and abundance.
Lenna Ortiz-Castillo, Oscar Pizarro, Marcela Cornejo-D'Ottone, and Boris Dewitte
Biogeosciences, 22, 4261–4289, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-22-4261-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-22-4261-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
Poleward undercurrent eddies (Puddies) transport the source water mass with low oxygen hundreds of kilometers away from the coast. A simulation based on a physical–biogeochemical model was used to characterize the average biogeochemical conditions inside the Puddies during their lifetime while modifying the conditions in the open sea. Our findings show that the biological activity extends the low-oxygen core conditions counteracted by advection processes that tend to ventilate the core.
Mauro Cirano, Enrique Alvarez-Fanjul, Arthur Capet, Stefania Ciliberti, Emanuela Clementi, Boris Dewitte, Matias Dinápoli, Ghada El Serafy, Patrick Hogan, Sudheer Joseph, Yasumasa Miyazawa, Ivonne Montes, Diego A. Narvaez, Heather Regan, Claudia G. Simionato, Gregory C. Smith, Joanna Staneva, Clemente A. S. Tanajura, Pramod Thupaki, Claudia Urbano-Latorre, Jennifer Veitch, and Jorge Zavala Hidalgo
State Planet, 5-opsr, 5, https://doi.org/10.5194/sp-5-opsr-5-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/sp-5-opsr-5-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
Operational ocean forecasting systems (OOFSs) are crucial for human activities, environmental monitoring, and policymaking. An assessment across eight key regions highlights strengths and gaps, particularly in coastal and biogeochemical forecasting. AI offers improvements, but collaboration, knowledge sharing, and initiatives like the OceanPrediction Decade Collaborative Centre (DCC) are key to enhancing accuracy, accessibility, and global forecasting capabilities.
Manuel Torres-Godoy, Oscar Pizarro, Boris Dewitte, and Vera Oerder
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-1311, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-1311, 2025
Preprint archived
Short summary
Short summary
The Southeast Pacific plays a key role in transporting deep ocean water toward the Southern Ocean through a deep southward flow along the Chilean coast. This study explores its variations and links to El Niño–Southern Oscillation. We found that the deep flow strengthens during El Niño and weakens during La Niña. These changes are tied to large-scale ocean shifts and energy transfers from surface to deep waters. Smaller-scale ocean processes also influence the flow, especially near the coast.
Elisa Carli, Rosemary Morrow, Oscar Vergara, Robin Chevrier, and Lionel Renault
Ocean Sci., 19, 1413–1435, https://doi.org/10.5194/os-19-1413-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/os-19-1413-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Oceanic eddies are the structures carrying most of the energy in our oceans. They are key to climate regulation and nutrient transport. We prepare for the Surface Water and Ocean Topography mission, studying eddy dynamics in the region south of Africa, where the Indian and Atlantic oceans meet, using models and simulated satellite data. SWOT will provide insights into the structures smaller than what is currently observable, which appear to greatly contribute to eddy kinetic energy and strain.
Oscar Vergara, Rosemary Morrow, Marie-Isabelle Pujol, Gérald Dibarboure, and Clément Ubelmann
Ocean Sci., 19, 363–379, https://doi.org/10.5194/os-19-363-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/os-19-363-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Recent advances allow us to observe the ocean from space with increasingly higher detail, challenging our knowledge of the ocean's surface height signature. We use a statistical approach to determine the spatial scale at which the sea surface height signal is no longer dominated by geostrophic turbulence but in turn becomes dominated by wave-type motions. This information helps us to better use the data provided by ocean-observing satellites and to gain knowledge on climate-driving processes.
Marie-Isabelle Pujol, Stéphanie Dupuy, Oscar Vergara, Antonio Sánchez-Román, Yannice Faugère, Pierre Prandi, Mei-Ling Dabat, Quentin Dagneaux, Marine Lievin, Emeline Cadier, Gérald Dibarboure, and Nicolas Picot
Earth Syst. Sci. Data Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-2022-292, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-2022-292, 2022
Manuscript not accepted for further review
Short summary
Short summary
An altimeter sea level along-track level-3 product with a 5 Hz (~1.2 km) sampling is proposed. It takes advantage of recent advances in radar altimeter processing, and improvements made to different stages of the processing chain. Compared to the conventional 1 Hz (~7 km) product, it significantly improves the observability of the short wavelength signal in open ocean and near coast areas (> 5 km). It also contributes to improving high resolution numerical model outputs via data assimilation.
Cited articles
Ancapichún, S. and Garcés-Vargas, J.: Variability of the Southeast Pacific Subtropical Anticyclone and its impact on sea surface temperature off north-central Chile, Cienc. Mar., 41, 1–20, https://doi.org/10.7773/cm.v41i1.2338, 2015.
Arévalo-Martínez, D., Kock, L. A., Löscher, C. R., Schmitz, R. A., and Bange, R. A.: Massive nitrous oxide emissions from the tropical South Pacific Ocean, Nat. Geosci., 8, 530–533, https://doi.org/10.1038/NGEO2469, 2015.
Bettencourt, J. H., López, C., Hernández-García, E., Montes, I., Sudre, J., Dewitte, B., Paulmier A., and Garçon, V.: Boundaries of the Peruvian Oxygen Minimum Zone shaped by coherent mesoscale dynamics, Nat. Geosci., 8, 937–940,, https://doi.org/10.1038/ngeo2570, 2015.
Bianchi, D., Dunne, J. P., Sarmiento, J. L., and Galbraith, E. D.: Data-based estimates of suboxia, denitrification, and N2O production in the ocean and their sensitivities to dissolved O2, Global Biogeochem. Cy., 26, GB2009, https://doi.org/10.1029/2011GB004209, 2012.
Bianucci, L., Fennel, K., and Denman, K. L.: Role of sediment denitrification in water column oxygen dynamics: comparison of the North American East and West Coasts, Biogeosciences, 9, 2673–2682, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-9-2673-2012, 2012.
Brandt, P., Bange, H. W., Banyte, D., Dengler, M., Didwischus, S.-H., Fischer, T., Greatbatch, R. J., Hahn, J., Kanzow, T., Karstensen, J., Körtzinger, A., Krahmann, G., Schmidtko, S., Stramma, L., Tanhua, T., and Visbeck, M.: On the role of circulation and mixing in the ventilation of oxygen minimum zones with a focus on the eastern tropical North Atlantic, Biogeosciences, 12, 489–512, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-12-489-2015, 2015.
Cabré, A., Marinov, I., Bernardello, R., and Bianchi, D.: Oxygen minimum zones in the tropical Pacific across CMIP5 models: mean state differences and climate change trends, Biogeosciences, 12, 5429–5454, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-12-5429-2015, 2015.
Cambon G., Goubanova, K., Marchesiello, P., Dewitte, B., Illig, S., and Echevin, V.: Assessing the impact of downscaled winds on a regional ocean model simulation of the Humboldt system, Ocean Model., 65, 11–24, 2013.
Chavez, F. P., Bertrand, A., Guevara-Carrasco, R., Soler, P., and Csirke, J.: The northern Humboldt Current System: Brief history, present status and a view towards the future, Prog. Oceanogr., 79, 95–105, 2008.
Chaigneau, A. and Pizarro, O.: Eddy characteristics in the eastern South Pacific, J. Geophys. Res., 110, C06005, https://doi.org/10.1029/2004JC002815, 2005.
Chaigneau, A., Eldin G., and Dewitte, B.: Eddy activity in the four major upwelling systems from satellite altimetry (1992–2007), Prog. Oceanogr., 83, 117–123, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pocean.2009.07.012, 2009.
Cocco, V., Joos, F., Steinacher, M., Frölicher, T. L., Bopp, L., Dunne, J., Gehlen, M., Heinze, C., Orr, J., Oschlies, A., Schneider, B., Segschneider, J., and Tjiputra, J.: Oxygen and indicators of stress for marine life in multi-model global warming projections, Biogeosciences, 10, 1849–1868, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-10-1849-2013, 2013.
Colas, F., McWillimas, J. C., Capet, X., and Kurian, J.: Heat balance and eddies in the Peru-Chile current system, Clim. Dynam., 39, 509–529, https://doi.org/10.1007/s00382-011-1170-6, 2012.
Combes, V., Hormazabal, S., and Di Lorenzo, E.: Interannual variability of the subsurface eddy field in the Southeast Pacific, J. Gephys. Res., 120, 4907–4924, https://doi.org/10.1002/2014JC010265, 2015.
Cornejo, M. and Farías, L.: Following the N2O consumption in the oxygen minimum zone of the eastern South Pacific, Biogeosciences, 9, 3205–3212, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-9-3205-2012, 2012.
Cornejo, M., Farías, L., and Paulmier, A.: Temporal variability in N2O water content and its air-sea exchange in an upwelling area off central Chile (36° S), Mar. Chem., 101, 85–94, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marchem.2006.01.004, 2006.
Czeschel, R., Stramma, L., Schwarzkopf, F. U., Giese, B. S., Funk, A., and Karstensen, J.: Middepth circulation of the eastern tropical South Pacific and its link to the oxygen minimum zone, J. Geophys. Res., 116, C01015, https://doi.org/10.1029/2010JC006565, 2011.
Czeschel, R., Stramma, L., Weller, R. A., and Fischer, T.: Circulation, eddies, oxygen, and nutrient changes in the eastern tropical South Pacific Ocean, Ocean Sci., 11, 455–470, https://doi.org/10.5194/os-11-455-2015, 2015.
daSilva A., Young, A. C., and Levitus, S.: Atlas of surface marine data 1994. Algorithms and procedures. vol. 1 Technical Report 6, US Department of Commerce, NOAA, NESDIS, 1994.
Dewitte B., Ramos, M., Echevin, V., Pizarro, O., and duPenhoat, Y.: Vertical structure variability in a seasonal simulation of a medium-resolution regional model simulation of the South Eastern Pacific, Prog. Oceanogr., 79, 120–137, 2008.
Dewitte, B., Illig, S.,Renault, L., Goubanova, K., Takahashi, K., Gushchina, D., Mosquera, K., and Purca, S.: Modes of covariability between sea surface temperature and wind stress intraseasonal anomalies along the coast of Peru from satellite observations (2000–2008), J. Geophys. Res., 116, C04028, https://doi.org/10.1029/2010JC006495, 2011.
Dewitte, B., Vazquez-Cuervo, J., Goubanova, K., Illig, S., Takahashi, K., Cambon, G., Purca, S., Correa, D., Gutiérrez, D., Sifeddine, A., and Ortlieb, L.: Change in El Nino flavours over 1958–2008: Implications for the long-term trend of the upwelling off Peru, Deep-Sea Res. Pt. II, 77–80, 143–156, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dsr2.2012.04.011, 2012.
Dunn J. R. and Ridgway, K. R.: Mapping ocean properties in regions of complex topography, Deep-Sea Res. Pt. I, 49, 591–604, 2002.
Dunne, J. P., Armstrong, R. A., Gnanadesikan, A., and Sarmiento, J. L.: Empirical and mechanistic models for the particle export ratio, Global Biogeochem. Cy., 19, GB4026, https://doi.org/10.1029/2004gb002390, 2005.
Duteil, O. and Oschlies, A.: Sensitivity of simulated extent and future evolution of marine suboxia to mixing intensity, Geophys. Res. Lett., 38, L06607, https://doi.org/10.1029/2011GL046877, 2011.
Duteil, O., Schwarzkopf, F. U., Böning, C. W., and Oschlies, A.: Major role of the equatorial current system in setting oxygen levels in the eastern tropical Atlantic Ocean: A high-resolution model study, Geophys. Res. Lett., 41, 2033–2040, https://doi.org/10.1002/2013GL058888, 2014.
Echevin, V., Aumont, O., Ledesma, J., and Flores, G.: The seasonal cycle of surface chlorophyll in the Peruvian upwelling system: A modelling study, Progr. Oceanogr., 79, 2–4, 167–176, 2008.
Echevin, V., Colas, F., Chaigneau, A., and Penven, P.: Sensitivity of the Northern Humboldt Current System nearshore modeled circulation to initial and boundary conditions, J. Geophys. Res., 116, C07002, https://doi.org/10.1029/2010JC006684, 2011.
Eliassen, A. and Palm, E.: On the transfer of energy in stationary mountain waves, Geofys. Publ., 22, 1–23, 1960.
Farías, L., Paulmier, A., and Gallegos, M.: Nitrous oxide and N-nutrient cycling in the oxygen minimum zone off northern Chile, Deep-Sea Res. Pt. I, 54, 164–180, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dsr.2006.11.003, 2007.
Fuenzalida, R., Schneider, W., Garces-Vargas, J., Bravo, L., and Lange, C.: Vertical and horizontal extension of the oxygen minimum zone in the eastern South Pacific Ocean, Deep-Sea Res. Pt. II, 56, 992–1003, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dsr2.2008.11.001, 2009.
García, H. E. and Gordon, L. I.: Oxygen solubility in seawater – better fitting equations, Limnol. Oceanogr., 37, 1307–1312, 1992.
Goubanova, K., Echevin, V., Dewitte, B., Codron, F., Takahashi, K., Terray, P., and Vrac, M.: Statistical downscaling of sea-surface wind over the Peru–Chile upwelling region: diagnosing the impact of climate change from the IPSL-CM4 model, Clim. Dynam., 36, 1365, https://doi.org/10.1007/s00382-010-0824-0, 2011.
Gruber, N.: The marine nitrogen cycle: Overview of distributions and processes, in: Nitrogen in the marine environment, second Edn., edited by: Capone, D. G., Bronk, D. A., Mulholland, M. R., and Carpenter, E. J., Elsevier, Amsterdam, 1–50, 2008.
Gruber, N., Lachkar, Z., Frenzel, H., Marchesiello, P., Münnich, M., McWilliams, J. C., Nagai, T., and Plattner, G. K.: Eddy-induced reduction of biological production in eastern boundary upwelling systems, Nat. Geosci., 4, 787–792, https://doi.org/10.1038/ngeo1273, 2011.
Gutiérrez, D., Enriquez, E., Purca, S., Quipuzcoa, L., Marquina, R., Flores, G., and Graco, M.: Oxygenation episodes on the continental shelf of central Peru: remote forcing and benthic ecosystem response, Prog. Oceanogr., 79, 177–189, 2008.
Gutiérrez, D., Bouloubassi, I., Sifeddine, A., Purca, S., Goubanova, K., Graco, M., Field, D., Mejanelle, L., Velazco, F., Lorre, A., Salvatteci, R., Quispe, D., Vargas, G., Dewitte, B., and Ortlieb, L.: Coastal cooling and increased productivity in the main upwelling zone off Peru since the mid-twentieth century, Geophys. Res. Lett., 38, L07603, https://doi.org/10.1029/2010GL046324, 2011.
Gutknecht, E., Dadou, I., Le Vu, B., Cambon, G., Sudre, J., Garçon, V., Machu, E., Rixen, T., Kock, A., Flohr, A., Paulmier, A., and Lavik, G.: Coupled physical/biogeochemical modeling including O2-dependent processes in the Eastern Boundary Upwelling Systems: application in the Benguela, Biogeosciences, 10, 3559–3591, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-10-3559-2013, 2013a.
Gutknecht, E., Dadou, I., Marchesiello, P., Cambon, G., Le Vu, B., Sudre, J., Garçon, V., Machu, E., Rixen, T., Kock, A., Flohr, A., Paulmier, A., and Lavik, G.: Nitrogen transfers off Walvis Bay: a 3-D coupled physical/biogeochemical modeling approach in the Namibian upwelling system, Biogeosciences, 10, 4117–4135, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-10-4117-2013, 2013b.
Henley, B. J., Gergis, J., Karoly, D. J., Power, S. B., Kennedy, J., and Folland, C. K.: A Tripole Index for the Interdecadal Pacific Oscillation, Clim. Dynam., 45, 3077–3090, https://doi.org/10.1007/s00382-015-2525-1, 2015.
Henson, S. A., Sanders, R., and Madsen, E.: Global patterns in efficiency of particulate organic carbon export and transfer to the deep ocean, Global Biogeochem. Cy., 26, GB1028, https://doi.org/10.1029/2011gb004099, 2012.
Illig, S., Dewitte, B., Goubanova, K., Cambon, G., Boucharel, J., Monetti, F., Romero, C., Purca, S., and Flores, R.: Forcing mechanisms of intraseasonal SST variability off central Peru in 2000–2008, J. Geophys. Res., 119, 3548–3573, https://doi.org/10.1002/2013JC009779, 2014.
Karstensen, J., Stramma, L., and Visbeck, M.: Oxygen minimum zones in the eastern tropical Atlantic and Pacific oceans, Progr. Oceanogr., 77, 331–350, 2008.
Karstensen, J., Fiedler, B., Schütte, F., Brandt, P., Körtzinger, A., Fischer, G., Zantopp, R., Hahn, J., Visbeck, M., and Wallace, D.: Open ocean dead zones in the tropical North Atlantic Ocean, Biogeosciences, 12, 2597–2605, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-12-2597-2015, 2015.
Kelly, K., Beardsley, R., Limeburner, R., and Brink, K.: Variability of the near-surface eddy kinetic energy in the California Current based on altimetric, drifter and moored data, J. Geophys. Res., 103, 13067–13083, 1998.
Kock, A., Arévalo-Martínez, D. L., Löscher, C. R., and Bange, H. W.: Extreme N2O accumulation in the coastal oxygen minimum zone off Peru, Biogeosciences, 13, 827–840, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-13-827-2016, 2016.
Large, W. G., McWilliams, J. C., and Doney, S. C.: Oceanic vertical mixing: A review and a model with a nonlocal boundary layer parameterization, Rev. Geophys., 32, 363–403, https://doi.org/10.1029/94RG01872, 1994.
Law, C. S., Brévière, E., de Leeuw, G., Garçon, V., Guieu, C., Kieber, D. J., Kontradowitz, S., Paulmier, A., Quinn, P. K., Saltzman, E. S., Stefels, J., and von Glasow, R.: Evolving research directions in Surface Ocean – Lower Atmosphere (SOLAS) science, Environ. Chem., 10, 1–16, https://doi.org/10.1071/EN12159, 2013.
Libes, S. M.: An Introduction to Marine Biogeochemistry, John Wiley and Sons, New York, 734 pp., 1992.
Llanillo, P. J., Karstensen, J., Pelegrí, J. L., and Stramma, L.: Physical and biogeochemical forcing of oxygen and nitrate changes during El Niño/El Viejo and La Niña/La Vieja upper-ocean phases in the tropical eastern South Pacific along 86° W, Biogeosciences, 10, 6339–6355, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-10-6339-2013, 2013.
Luyten, J. R., Pedlosky, J., and Stommel, H.: The ventilated thermocline, J. Phys. Oceanogr., 13, 292–309, 1983.
McClain, C. R., Cleave, M. L., Feldman, G. C., Gregg, W. W., Hooker, S. B., and Kuring, N.: Science quality SeaWiFS data for global biosphere research, Sea Technol., 39, 10–16, 1998.
Montes, I., Colas, F., Capet, X., and Schneider, W.: On the pathways of the equatorial subsurface currents in the Eastern Equatorial Pacific and their contributions to the Peru-Chile Undercurrent, J. Geophys. Res., 115, C09003, https://doi.org/10.1029/2009JC005710, 2010.
Montes, I., Dewitte, B., Gutknecht, E., Paulmier, A., Dadou, I., Oschlies, A., and Garçon, V.: High-resolution modeling of the Eastern Tropical Pacific oxygen minimum zone: Sensitivity to the tropical oceanic circulation, J. Geophys. Res.-Oceans, 119, 5515–5532, https://doi.org/10.1002/2014JC009858, 2014.
Morales, C. E., Hormazabal, S. E., and Blanco, J.: Interannual variability in the mesoscale distribution of the depth of the upper boundary of the oxygen minimum layer off northern Chile (18–24S): Implications for the pelagic system and biogeochemical cycling, J. Mar. Res., 57, 909–932, https://doi.org/10.1357/002224099321514097, 1999.
Morel, A. and Berthon, J. F.: Surface pigments, algal biomass profiles, and potential production of euphotic layer: Relationship reinvestigated in view of remote-sensing applications, Limnol. Oceanogr., 34, 1545–1562, 1989.
Nagai, T., Gruber, N., Frenzel, H., Lachkar, Z., McWilliams, J. C., and Plattner, G.-K.: Dominant role of eddies and filaments in the offshore transport of carbon and nutrients in the California Current System, J. Geophys. Res.-Oceans, 120, 5318–5341, https://doi.org/10.1002/2015JC010889, 2015.
Nerem, R. S., Chambers, D. P., Choe, C., and Mitchum, G. T.: Estimating mean sea level change from the TOPEX and Jason altimeter missions, Mar. Geod., 33, Supplement 1, 435–446, 2010.
O'Reilly, J. E., Maritorena, S., Siegel, D., O'Brien, M. O., Toole, D., Mitchell, B. G., Kahru, M., Chavez, F., Strutton, P. G., Cota, G. F., Hooker, S. B., McClain, C., Carder, K., Muller-Karger, F., Harding, L., Magnuson, A., Phinney, D., Moore, G., Aiken, J., Arrigo, K. R., Letelier, R. M., and Culver, M.: Ocean chlorophyll a algorithms for SeaWiFS, OC2, and OC4: Version 4, in: SeaWiFS Postlaunch Calibration and Validation Analyses, Part 3, NASA Tech. Memo 2000–206892, vol. 11, edited by: Hooker, B., and Firestone, E. R., NASA, Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland, 9–19, 2000.
Paulmier, A. and Ruiz-Pino, D.: Oxygen minimum zones (OMZs) in the modern ocean, Prog. Oceanogr., 80, 3–4, 113–128, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pocean.2008.08.001, 2009.
Paulmier, A., Ruiz-Pino, D., Garçon, V., and Farías, L.: Maintaining of the East South Pacific Oxygen Minimum Zone (OMZ) off Chile, Geophys. Res. Lett., 33, L20601, https://doi.org/10.1029/2006GL026801, 2006.
Paulmier, A., Ruiz-Pino, D., and Garçon, V.: The Oxygen Minimum Zone (OMZ) off Chile as intense source of CO2 and N2O, Cont. Shelf Res., 28, 2746–2756, 2008.
Paulmier, A., Ruiz-Pino, D., and Garçon, V.: CO2 maximum in the oxygen minimum zone (OMZ), Biogeosciences, 8, 239–252, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-8-239-2011, 2011.
Penven, P., Echevin, V., Pasapera, J., Colas, F., and Tam, J.: Average circulation, seasonal cycle, and mesoscale dynamics of the Peru Current System: a modeling approach, J. Geophys. Res., 110, C10021, https://doi.org/10.1029/2005JC002945, 2005.
Pizarro, O., Shaffer, G., Dewitte, B., and Ramos, M.: Dynamics of seasonal and interannual variability of the Peru-Chile Undercurrent, Geophys. Res. Lett., 29, 1581, https://doi.org/10.1029/2002GL014790, 2002.
Prince, E. D. and Goodyear, C. P.: Hypoxia-based habitat compression of tropical pelagic fishes, Fish. Oceanogr., 15, 451–464, https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2419.2005.00393.x, 2006.
Qiu, B., Chen, S., and Sasaki, H.: Generation of the North Equatorial Undercurrent jets by triad baroclinic Rossby wave interactions, J. Phys. Oceanogr., 43, 2682–2698, https://doi.org/10.1175/JPO-D-13-099.1, 2013.
Rahn, D., Rosenblüth, B., and Rutllant, J.: Detecting Subtle Seasonal Transitions of Upwelling in North-Central Chile, J. Phys. Oceanogr., 45, 854–867, 2015.
Ramos, M., Dewitte, B., Pizarro, O., and Garric, G.: Vertical propagation of extratropical Rossby waves during the 1997–1998 El Niño off the west coast of South America in a medium-resolution OGCM simulation, J. Geophys. Res., 113, C08041, https://doi.org/10.1029/2007JC004681, 2008.
Resplandy, L., Lévy, M., Bopp, L., Echevin, V., Pous, S., Sarma, V. V. S. S., and Kumar, D.: Controlling factors of the oxygen balance in the Arabian Sea's OMZ, Biogeosciences, 9, 5095–5109, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-9-5095-2012, 2012.
Reynolds, R. W., Smith, T. M., Liu, C., Chelton, D. B., Casey, K. S., and Schlax, M. G.: Daily high-resolution blended analyses for sea surface temperature, J. Climate, 20, 5473–5496, 2007.
Richter, I.: Climate model biases in the eastern tropical oceans: causes, impacts and ways forward, WIREs Clim. Change, 6, 345–358, https://doi.org/10.1002/wcc.338, 2015.
Ridgway K. R., Dunn, J. R., and Wilkin, J. L.: Ocean interpolation by four-dimensional least squares – Application to the waters around Australia, J. Atmos. Ocean. Tech., 19, 1357–1375, 2002.
Shchepetkin, A. F. and McWilliams, J. C.: The regional oceanic modeling system: a split-explicit, free-surface, topography-following-coordinate ocean model, Ocean Model., 9, 347–404, 2005.
Shchepetkin, A. F. and McWilliams, J. C.: Correction and commentary for “Ocean forecasting in terrain-following coordinates: Formulation and skill assessment of the regional ocean modeling system” by Haidvogel et al., J. Comp. Phys., 227, 3595–3624, 2009.
Siedlecki, S. A., Banas, N. S., Davis, K. A., Giddings, S., Hickey, B. M., MacCready, P., Connolly, T., and Geier, S.: Seasonal and interannual oxygen variability on the Washington and Oregon continental shelves, J. Geophys. Res.-Oceans, 120, 608–633, https://doi.org/10.1002/2014JC010254, 2015.
Stramma, L., Johnson, G. C., Sprintall, J., and Mohrholz, V.: Expanding oxygen-minimum zones in the tropical oceans, Science, 320, 655–658, 2008.
Stramma, L., Johnson, G. C., Firing, E., and Schmidtko, S.: Eastern Pacific oxygen minimum zones: Supply paths and multidecadal changes, J. Geophys. Res., 115, C09011, https://doi.org/10.1029/2009JC005976, 2010.
Stramma, L., Oschlies, A., and Schmidtko, S.: Mismatch between observed and modeled trends in dissolved upper-ocean oxygen over the last 50 yr, Biogeosciences, 9, 4045–4057, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-9-4045-2012, 2012.
Stramma, L., Bange, H. W., Czeschel, R., Lorenzo, A., and Frank, M.: On the role of mesoscale eddies for the biological productivity and biogeochemistry in the eastern tropical Pacific Ocean off Peru, Biogeosciences, 10, 7293–7306, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-10-7293-2013, 2013.
Stramma, L., Weller, R. A., Czeschel, R., and Bigorre, S.: Eddies and an extreme water mass anomaly observed in the eastern south Pacific at the Stratus mooring, J. Geophys. Res.-Oceans, 119, 1068–1083, 2014.
Thomsen, S., Kanzow, T., Krahmann, G., Greatbatch, R. J., Dengler, M., and Lavik, G.: The formation of a subsurface anticyclonic eddy in the Peru-Chile Undercurrent and its impact on the near-coastal salinity, oxygen, and nutrients distributions, J. Geophys. Res.-Oceans, 121, 476–501, https://doi.org/10.1002/2015JC010878, 2016. Thomsen, S., Kanzow, T., Krahmann, G., Greatbatch, R. J., Dengler, M., and Lavik, G.: The formation of a subsurface anticyclonic eddy in the Peru-Chile Undercurrent and its impact on the near-coastal salinity, oxygen, and nutrients distributions, J. Geophys. Res.-Oceans, 121, 1, 476–501, https://doi.org/10.1002/2015JC010878, 2016.
Short summary
The Southeast Pacific hosts one of the most extensive oxygen minimum zone (OMZ), yet the dynamics behind it remain unveiled. We use a high-resolution coupled physical–biogeochemical model to document the seasonal cycle of dissolved oxygen within the OMZ in both the coastal zone and the offshore ocean. The OMZ seasonal variability is driven by the seasonal fluctuations of the dissolved oxygen eddy flux, with a peak in Austral winter (fall) at the northern (southern) boundary and near the coast.
The Southeast Pacific hosts one of the most extensive oxygen minimum zone (OMZ), yet the...
Altmetrics
Final-revised paper
Preprint