RT journal article
T1 Climate change in the Canary/Iberia upwelling region: the role of ocean stratification and wind
A1 Vázquez Medina, Rubén
A1 Parras Berrocal, Iván Manuel
A1 Cabos, William
A1 Sein, Dmitry
A1 Mañanes Salinas, Rafael
A1 Bolado Penagos, Marina
A1 Izquierdo González, Alfredo
A2 Física Aplicada
K1 coastal upwelling
K1 climate change
K1 ocean stratification
K1 Azores High
K1 upwelling index
K1 Iberian thermal low
K1 Canary/Iberia region
AB The Canary/Iberia region (CIR), part of the Canary Current Upwelling System, is well-known forits coastal productivity and crucial role in enriching the oligotrophic open ocean through theoffshore transport of the upwelled coastal waters. Given its significant ecological andsocio-economic importance, it is essential to assess the impact of climate change on this area.Therefore, the goal of this study is to analyze the climate change signal over the CIR using ahigh-resolution regional climate system model driven by the Earth system model MPI-ESM-LRunder RCP8.5 scenario. This modelling system presents a regional atmosphere model coupled to aglobal ocean model with enough horizontal resolution at CIR to examine the role of the upwellingfavourable winds and the ocean stratification as key factors in the future changes. CIR exhibitssignificant latitudinal and seasonal variability in response to climate change under RCP8.5scenario, where ocean stratification and wind patterns will play both complementary andcompetitive roles. Ocean stratification will increase from the Strait of Gibraltar to Cape Juby by theend of the century, weakening the coastal upwelling all year long. This increase in stratification isassociated with a freshening of the surface layers of the North Atlantic. However, modifications inthe wind pattern will play a primary role in upwelling source water depth changes in thesouthernmost region of the CIR in winter and in the north of the Iberian Peninsula in summer.Wind pattern changes are related to the intensification of the Azores High in winter and to adeepening of the Iberian thermal low in summer months.
PB Institute of Physics
SN 1748-9326
YR 2024
FD 2024
LK http://hdl.handle.net/10498/35654
UL http://hdl.handle.net/10498/35654
LA eng
DS Repositorio Institucional de la Universidad de Cádiz
RD 11-nov-2026