“Upwelling of south region of Gulf of
California. Fluxes of CO2 and nutrients ”
Leticia Espinosa
Diana Escobedo
(IPN-CIIDIR SINALOA)
Winter/Spring
E
UPWELLING
SPRING
SEASON
N
Summer
PHYTOPLANKTON
BLOOMS
T
R
A
N
C
E
GULF OF CALIFORNIA
Subtropical system: marginal sea
approximately 1,000 kilometers long and
150 kilometers wide
Depth (m)
Oxygen minimum (0.1-0.2Complex
ml/L) topography: deep basins, steep
slopes, 900 desert islands, both narrow
and wide continental shelves and
numerous coastal lagoons
Depth (m)
Unique marine ecosystem: contains a
variety of pelagic (deep) and benthic
(shallow) environments , ranging from
wetlands to coral reefs
High productivity : 178-1595 g C m-2 y-1
GULF OF CALIFORNIA
ORITY CONSERVATION AREAS
Natural Patrimony of Humanity: 244
islands (UNESCO, 2006)
One of the most ecologically pristine
ecosystems in the world
High productivity area:
Very important fisheries
MECHANISMS
Mixing
Upwelling
Antropogenic?
Eddies
Upwelling
Eddies
South Region
Upwelling area
(Cañón Sinaloa)
Very few studies
Physical
Chemical
Biological
Chlorophyll
(2002-2012)
Sea surface
temperature
average (2002-2012)
México
Océano
Pacífico
Feeding area of mammals, birds, turtles
Goals:
• Description
of
physical
and
chemical dynamic (Low and High
resolution)
• Biological response
• Anthropogenic Impact?
Coastal connection
HIGH RESOLUTION EFFORT
Global Ocean
Acidification Observing
Network: Requeriments
and Gobernance Plan
(GOA-ON)
Ensenada, BC.
Cabo Pulmo, BCS
Bahía Magdalena, BCS
Sinaloa
upwelling
Get funds of CONACYT – part I
0.74 °C last century
Industry and agriculture
100 ppm
(Siegenthaler et al., 2005)
The ocean uptake more than 2.2 millions of
tones of CO2, represents an impact in their
chemical and biological structure
When the CO2 were dissolved in the water sea,
create carbonic acid that promote a pH
decrease
Upon Instrustrial Revolution the pH has been
decease 0.1 units
Ocean acidification
(Feely et al., 2004)
What's is the problem?
In the south zone of California Gulf there are few
research's from biological-chemical structure in the
water column
We do not know:
The CO2 air-ocean fluxes in the coastal zone
The vertical distribution of carbon inorganic dissolved
The nutrients contribution in the water column
Goal
Which are the temporal variability of air-sea CO2 flux in the
upwelling area in the southern California Gulf
Specific goals
1) Study the temporal variability from air-sea CO2 flux.
2) Characterize the upwelling system with vertical profiles of
temperature, salinity and dissolved oxygen.
3) Know the variability of dissolved inorganic carbon, total alkalinity,
pH, primary productivity in different oceanographic conditions
(before, during, after upwelling season).
The project is he first step to know the CO2 fluxes
in the Sinaloa Upwelling
We need to know about the anthropogenic
contribution from Sinaloa to Baja California
connection
Thank you