Articles | Volume 12, issue 2
https://doi.org/10.5194/os-12-533-2016
© 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/os-12-533-2016
© Author(s) 2016. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
Seasonal hydrography and surface outflow in a fjord with a deep sill: the Reloncaví fjord, Chile
Facultad de Ciencias del Mar y de Recursos Naturales, Universidad de Valparaíso, Viña del Mar, Chile
Center for Oceanographic Research in the Eastern South Pacific (COPAS)-Sur Austral, Universidad de Concepción, Concepción, Chile
Ursula Cifuentes
Center for Oceanographic Research in the Eastern South Pacific (COPAS)-Sur Austral, Universidad de Concepción, Concepción, Chile
Departamento de Oceanografía y Medio Ambiente, Instituto de Fomento Pesquero, Valparaíso, Chile
Oscar Pizarro
Center for Oceanographic Research in the Eastern South Pacific (COPAS)-Sur Austral, Universidad de Concepción, Concepción, Chile
Departamento de Geofísica, Universidad de Concepción, Concepción, Chile
Instituto Milenio de Oceanografía, Universidad de Concepción, Concepción, Chile
Leif Djurfeldt
Department of Oceanography, Earth Sciences Center, Gothenburg University, Gothenburg, Sweden
Mario Caceres
Facultad de Ciencias del Mar y de Recursos Naturales, Universidad de Valparaíso, Viña del Mar, Chile
Related authors
Pamela Linford, Iván Pérez-Santos, Paulina Montero, Patricio A. Díaz, Claudia Aracena, Elías Pinilla, Facundo Barrera, Manuel Castillo, Aida Alvera-Azcárate, Mónica Alvarado, Gabriel Soto, Cécile Pujol, Camila Schwerter, Sara Arenas-Uribe, Pilar Navarro, Guido Mancilla-Gutiérrez, Robinson Altamirano, Javiera San Martín, and Camila Soto-Riquelme
Biogeosciences, 21, 1433–1459, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-1433-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-1433-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
The Patagonian fjords comprise a world region where low-oxygen water and hypoxia conditions are observed. An in situ dataset was used to quantify the mechanism involved in the presence of these conditions in northern Patagonian fjords. Water mass analysis confirmed the contribution of Equatorial Subsurface Water in the advection of the low-oxygen water, and hypoxic conditions occurred when the community respiration rate exceeded the gross primary production.
Julio Salcedo-Castro, Antonio Olita, Freddy Saavedra, Gonzalo S. Saldías, Raúl C. Cruz-Gómez, and Cristian D. De la Torre Martínez
Ocean Sci., 19, 1687–1703, https://doi.org/10.5194/os-19-1687-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/os-19-1687-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Considering the relevance and impact of river discharges on the coastal environment, it is necessary to understand the processes associated with river plume dynamics in different regions and at different scales. Modeling studies focused on the eastern Pacific coast under the influence of the Humboldt Current are scarce. Here, we conduct for the first time an interannual modeling study of two river plumes off central Chile and discuss their characteristics.
Iván Pérez-Santos, Leonardo Castro, Lauren Ross, Edwin Niklitschek, Nicolás Mayorga, Luis Cubillos, Mariano Gutierrez, Eduardo Escalona, Manuel Castillo, Nicolás Alegría, and Giovanni Daneri
Ocean Sci., 14, 1185–1206, https://doi.org/10.5194/os-14-1185-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/os-14-1185-2018, 2018
Short summary
Short summary
Fjord systems play an important role in primary production and carbon export. Acoustic, hydrographic and in situ abundance measurements were used to study macrozooplankton assemblages at 44.7° S. Diel vertical migration of zooplankton stopped at the hypoxic boundary layer and apparently did not tolerate the hypoxic conditions. Turbulence appears to be the oceanographic process that contributes to vertical mixing around the sill, helping the interchange of nutrients, feeding and carbon export.
Manuel I. Castillo, Oscar Pizarro, Nadin Ramírez, and Mario Cáceres
Ocean Sci., 13, 145–160, https://doi.org/10.5194/os-13-145-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/os-13-145-2017, 2017
Short summary
Short summary
Here we present the results of an intensive physical oceanography study conducted in the Reloncavi fjord (41.5º S, 72.5º W) which was focused on the sub-inertial timescale. The along-fjord currents presented 3-day oscillations which were consistent with the natural internal period of oscillation of the fjord basin (internal seiche). This oscillation could explain more than 44 % of the 3-day variability and contributed with kinetic energy levels as large as the tidal currents.
Lenna Oriana Ortiz-Castillo, Oscar Pizarro, Marcela Cornejo-D'Ottone, and Boris Dewitte
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-1290, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-1290, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Poleward undercurrent eddies (Puddies) transport a 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 biogeochemical average 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.
Pamela Linford, Iván Pérez-Santos, Paulina Montero, Patricio A. Díaz, Claudia Aracena, Elías Pinilla, Facundo Barrera, Manuel Castillo, Aida Alvera-Azcárate, Mónica Alvarado, Gabriel Soto, Cécile Pujol, Camila Schwerter, Sara Arenas-Uribe, Pilar Navarro, Guido Mancilla-Gutiérrez, Robinson Altamirano, Javiera San Martín, and Camila Soto-Riquelme
Biogeosciences, 21, 1433–1459, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-1433-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-1433-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
The Patagonian fjords comprise a world region where low-oxygen water and hypoxia conditions are observed. An in situ dataset was used to quantify the mechanism involved in the presence of these conditions in northern Patagonian fjords. Water mass analysis confirmed the contribution of Equatorial Subsurface Water in the advection of the low-oxygen water, and hypoxic conditions occurred when the community respiration rate exceeded the gross primary production.
Julio Salcedo-Castro, Antonio Olita, Freddy Saavedra, Gonzalo S. Saldías, Raúl C. Cruz-Gómez, and Cristian D. De la Torre Martínez
Ocean Sci., 19, 1687–1703, https://doi.org/10.5194/os-19-1687-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/os-19-1687-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Considering the relevance and impact of river discharges on the coastal environment, it is necessary to understand the processes associated with river plume dynamics in different regions and at different scales. Modeling studies focused on the eastern Pacific coast under the influence of the Humboldt Current are scarce. Here, we conduct for the first time an interannual modeling study of two river plumes off central Chile and discuss their characteristics.
Iván Pérez-Santos, Leonardo Castro, Lauren Ross, Edwin Niklitschek, Nicolás Mayorga, Luis Cubillos, Mariano Gutierrez, Eduardo Escalona, Manuel Castillo, Nicolás Alegría, and Giovanni Daneri
Ocean Sci., 14, 1185–1206, https://doi.org/10.5194/os-14-1185-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/os-14-1185-2018, 2018
Short summary
Short summary
Fjord systems play an important role in primary production and carbon export. Acoustic, hydrographic and in situ abundance measurements were used to study macrozooplankton assemblages at 44.7° S. Diel vertical migration of zooplankton stopped at the hypoxic boundary layer and apparently did not tolerate the hypoxic conditions. Turbulence appears to be the oceanographic process that contributes to vertical mixing around the sill, helping the interchange of nutrients, feeding and carbon export.
Manuel I. Castillo, Oscar Pizarro, Nadin Ramírez, and Mario Cáceres
Ocean Sci., 13, 145–160, https://doi.org/10.5194/os-13-145-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/os-13-145-2017, 2017
Short summary
Short summary
Here we present the results of an intensive physical oceanography study conducted in the Reloncavi fjord (41.5º S, 72.5º W) which was focused on the sub-inertial timescale. The along-fjord currents presented 3-day oscillations which were consistent with the natural internal period of oscillation of the fjord basin (internal seiche). This oscillation could explain more than 44 % of the 3-day variability and contributed with kinetic energy levels as large as the tidal currents.
Oscar Vergara, Boris Dewitte, Ivonne Montes, Veronique Garçon, Marcel Ramos, Aurélien Paulmier, and Oscar Pizarro
Biogeosciences, 13, 4389–4410, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-13-4389-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-13-4389-2016, 2016
Short summary
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.
Marcela Cornejo D'Ottone, Luis Bravo, Marcel Ramos, Oscar Pizarro, Johannes Karstensen, Mauricio Gallegos, Marco Correa-Ramirez, Nelson Silva, Laura Farias, and Lee Karp-Boss
Biogeosciences, 13, 2971–2979, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-13-2971-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-13-2971-2016, 2016
Related subject area
Approach: In situ Observations | Depth range: All Depths | Geographical range: Shelf Seas | Phenomena: Temperature, Salinity and Density Fields
Variability in high-salinity shelf water production in the Terra Nova Bay polynya, Antarctica
Malvinas-slope water intrusions on the northern Patagonia continental shelf
Seung-Tae Yoon, Won Sang Lee, Craig Stevens, Stefan Jendersie, SungHyun Nam, Sukyoung Yun, Chung Yeon Hwang, Gwang Il Jang, and Jiyeon Lee
Ocean Sci., 16, 373–388, https://doi.org/10.5194/os-16-373-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/os-16-373-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
We investigated the variability in high-salinity shelf water (HSSW) formation in the Terra Nova Bay polynya using hydrographic data from instrumented moorings and vessel-based profiles. We show that HSSW can be formed in the upper water column of the eastern Terra Nova Bay via polynya activity and convective processes, as well as how the nature of circulation in Terra Nova Bay influences HSSW production. This article also discusses the present results in the context of previous analyses.
A. R. Piola, N. Martínez Avellaneda, R. A. Guerrero, F. P. Jardón, E. D. Palma, and S. I. Romero
Ocean Sci., 6, 345–359, https://doi.org/10.5194/os-6-345-2010, https://doi.org/10.5194/os-6-345-2010, 2010
Cited articles
Arneborg, L. and Liljebladh, B.: The internal seiches in Gullmar fjord part II – contribution to basin water mixing, J. Phys. Oceanogr., 31, 2567–2574, 2001.
Bastén, J. and Clement, A.: Oceanografía del estuario de Reloncaví, X región de Chile, Ciencia y Tecnologia del Mar, 22, 31–46, 1999.
Buschmann, A. H., Cabello, F., Young, K., Carvajal, J., Varela, D. A., and Henriquez, L.: Salmon aquaculture and coastal ecosystem health in Chile: Analysis of regulations, environmental impacts and bioremediation systems, Ocean and Coastal Management, 52, 243–249, 2009.
Calvete, C. and Sobarzo, M.: Quantification of the surface brackish water layer and frontal zones in southern Chilean fjords between Boca del Guafo (43°30′ S) and Estero Elefantes (46°30′ S), Cont. Shelf Res., 31, 162–171, 2011.
Castillo, M. I., Pizarro, O., Cifuentes, U., Ramirez, N., and Djurfeldt, L.: Subtidal dynamics in a deep fjord of southern Chile, Cont. Shelf Res., 49, 73–89, 2012.
Castillo, M.I., Pizarro, O., Ramírez, N., and Cáceres, M.: Evidence of seiche excitation in a stratified fjord in southern Chile: forcing and damping, PLOS ONE, in review, 2016.
COPAS-SUR Austral: Oceanografía del fiordo Reloncaví, Universidad de Concepción, available at: http://www.reloncavi.udec.cl/ (last access: 8 April 2016), 2012.
Dávila, P. M., Figueroa, D., and Müller, E.: Freshwater input into the coastal ocean and its relation with the salinity distribution off austral Chile (35–55° S), Cont. Shelf Res., 22, 521–534, 2002.
Dirección General de Aguas: Datos hidrológicos en tiempo real, Chile, available at: www.dga.cl (last access: 8 April 2016), 2015.
Dyer, K. R.: Estuaries: a physical introduction, John Wiley and Sons, London, UK, 140 pp., 1997.
Farmer, D. M. and Freeland, H. J.: The physical oceanography of fjords, Prog. Oceanogr., 12, 147–194, 1983.
Geyer, W. R.: Estuarine salinity structure and circulation, in: Contemporary Issues in Estuarine Physics, edited by: Valle-Levinson, A., Cambridge Univ. Press, Cambridge, UK, 12–26, 2010.
Inall, M. E. and Gillibrand, P. A.: The physics of mid-latitude fjords: a review, Geological Society, London, UK, Special Publications 344, 17–33, 2010.
Iriarte, J. L., Pantoja, S., and Daneri, G.: Oceanographic Processes in Chilean Fjords of Patagonia: From small to large-scale studies, Part A, Prog. Oceanogr., 129, 1–7, 2014.
Kirincich, A., Barth, J. A., Graham, B., Menge, B. A., and Lubchenco, J.: Wind-driven inner-shelf circulation off central Oregon during summer, J. Geophys. Res., 110, C10S03, https://doi.org/10.1029/2004JC002611, 2005.
Large, W. G. and Pond, S.: Open-ocean momentum flux measurements in moderate to strong winds, J. Phys. Oceanogr., 11, 324–336, 1981.
León-Muñoz, J., Marcé, R., and Iriarte, J. L.: Influence of hydrological regime of an Andean river on salinity, temperature and oxygen in a Patagonia fjord, Chile, New Zeal. J. Mar. Fresh, 47, 515–528, 2013.
Montero, P., Daneri, G., González, H. E., Iriarte, J. L., Tapia, F. J., Lizárraga, L., Sanchez, N., and Pizarro, O.: Seasonal variability of primary production in a fjord ecosystem of the Chilean Patagonia: Implications for the transfer of carbon within pelagic food webs, Cont. Shelf Res., 31, 202–215, 2011.
Niemeyer, H. and Cereceda, P.: Hidrografía, Geografía de Chile, Instituto Geográfico Militar, Santiago, Chile, 313 pp., 1984.
Oppedal, F., Dempster, T., and Stien, L. H.: Environmental drivers of Atlantic salmon behavior in sea-cages: a review, Aquaculture, 311, 1–18, 2011.
Pacanowski, R. C. and Philander, S. G. H.: Parameterization of vertical mixing in numerical models of the tropical oceans, J. Phys. Oceanogr., 11, 1443–1451, 1981.
Palma, S., Silva, N., Retamal, M. C., and Castro, L.: Seasonal and vertical distributional patterns of siphonophores and medusae in the Chiloe Interior Sea, Chile, Cont. Shelf Res., 31, 260–271, 2011.
Pantoja, S., Luis Iriarte, J., and Daneri, G.: Oceanography of the Chilean Patagonia, Cont. Shelf Res., 31, 149–153, 2011.
Pedersen, B.: A brief review of present theories of fjord dynamics, in: Hydrodynamics of estuaries and fjords, edited by: Nihoul, J. J., Elsevier Oceanography Series, New York, USA, 407–422, 1978.
Pérez-Santos, I., Garcés-Vargas, J., Schneider, W., Ross, L., Parra, S., and Valle-Levinson, A.: Double-diffusive layering and mixing in Patagonian fjords, Prog. Oceanogr., 129, 35–49, 2014.
Rabinovich, A. B. and Medvedev, I. P.: Radiational tides at the southeastern coast of the Baltic Sea, Oceanology, 55, 319–326, 2015.
Saavedra, N., Müller, E., and Fopiano, A.: On the climatology of surface wind direction frequencies for the central Chilean coast, Australian Meterological and Oceanographic Journal, 60, 103–112, 2010.
Schneider, W., Pérez-Santos, I., Ross, L., Bravo, L., Seguel, R., and Hernández, F.: On the hydrography of Puyuhuapi Channel, Chilean Patagonia, Prog. Oceanogr., 129, 8–18, 2014.
Silva, N. and Palma, S. (Eds.): The CIMAR Program in the austral Chilean channels and fjords, in: Progress in the oceanographic knowledge of Chilean inner waters, from Puerto Montt to Cape Horn, Comite Oceanográfico Nacional – Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso, Valparaíso, Chile, 11–15, 2008.
Silva, N. and Vargas, C. A.: Hypoxia in Chilean Patagonian fjords, Prog. Oceanogr., 129, 62–74, 2014.
Silva, N., Haro, J., and Prego, R.: Metals background and enrichment in the Chiloe Interior Sea sediments (Chile). Is there any segregation between fjords, channels and sounds?, Estuar. Coast. Shelf S., 82, 469–476, 2009.
Silva, N., Vargas, C. A., and Prego, R.: Land-ocean distribution of allochthonous organic matter in surface sediments of the Chiloe and Aysen interior seas (Chilean Northern Patagonia), Cont. Shelf Res., 31, 330–339, 2011.
Sobarzo, M., Bravo, L., Donoso, D., Garcés-Vargas, J., and Schneider, W.: Coastal upwelling and seasonal cycles that influence the water column over the continental shelf off central Chile, Prog. Oceanogr., 75, 363–382, 2007.
Soto, D. and Norambuena, F.: Evaluation of salmon farming effects on marine systems in the inner seas of southern Chile: A large-scale mensurative experiment, J. Appl. Ichthyol., 20, 493–501, 2004.
Stanton, B. R. and Pickard, G. L.: Physical oceanography of the New Zealand fjords, New Zealand Oceanographic Institute, Memoir 88, New York, USA, 37 pp., 1981.
Stigebrandt, A.: Hydrodynamics and Circulation of Fjords, in: Encyclopedia of Lakes and Reservoirs, edited by: Bengtsson, L., Herschy, R., and Fairbridge, R., Springer Netherlands, New York, USA, 327–344, 2012.
Stigebrandt, A., Liljebladh, B., Brabandere, L., Forth, M., Granmo, Å., Hall, P., Hammar, J., Hansson, D., Kononets, M., Magnusson, M., Norén, F., Rahm, L., Treusch, A. H., and Viktorsson, L.: An Experiment with Forced Oxygenation of the Deepwater of the Anoxic By Fjord, Western Sweden, AMBIO, 44, 42–54, 2014.
Strub, P. T., Mesías, J. M., Montecino, V., Rutlant, J., and Salinas, S.: Coastal ocean circulation off western South America., in: The Sea, edited by: Robinson, A. R. and Brink, K. H., John Wiley & Sons, New York, USA, 273–313, 1998.
Thomson, R. E., Mihály, S. F., and Kulikov, E. A.: Estuarine versus transient flow regimes in Juan de Fuca Strait, J. Geophys. Res.-Oceans, 112, C09022, https://doi.org/10.1029/2006JC003925, 2007.
Valle-Levinson, A., Sarkar, N., Sanay, R., Soto, D., and León, J.: Spatial structure of hydrography and flow in a Chilean fjord, Estuario Reloncaví, Estuar. Coast., 30, 113–126, 2007.
Valle-Levinson, A., Caceres, M., and Pizarro, O.: Variations of tidally driven three-layer residual circulation in fjords, Ocean Dynam., 64, 459–469, 2014.
Short summary
The upper layer of the Reloncaví fjord, Chile, shows a continuous stratification year-round. Nevertheless, the vertical salt flux seems to be balanced by the horizontal salt flux, which maintains the amount of salt into the fjord nearly as a steady state. The upper layer shows a flushing time of about 3 days.
The upper layer of the Reloncaví fjord, Chile, shows a continuous stratification year-round....