Abstract

ESPINOSA-CARREON, T. Leticia  and  VALDEZ-HOLGUIN, Eduardo. Gulf of california interanual chlorophyll variability. Ecol. apl. [online]. 2007, vol.6, n.1-2, pp.83-92. ISSN 1726-2216.

The Gulf of California is characterized as a semi-closed sea and an evaporation basin. It has been divided into various physical and bio-geographical zones, due to characteristic dynamics of each zone. The goal of this paper was to study the interannual chlorophyll variability from September 1999 to December 2002 during El Niño and La Niña conditions. Weekly composites for the study period with 9 km per pixel resolution were obtained from SeaWiFS imagery data. The spatial distribution of chlorophyll means suggest that the Gulf of California can be divided into three zones: oligotrophic (gulf mouth), mesotrophic (central area) and eutrophic (coastal region, north area and the Big Islands). The seasonal chlorophyll variability indicates a dominant annual signal. The interannual variability of chlorophyll in the Gulf of California is evident from El Niño 1997-1998 and La Nñia 1998-2001 events. The effect on chlorophyll distribution is strong during El Niño 1997-1998, but the change to cold conditions La Niña during 1998-1999 is appreciated in negative anomalies, but in positives in 2000 and 2001 years.

Keywords : chlorophyll; interanual variability; El Niño; La Niña; Gulf of California; imagery data; remote sensing.

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