Variability of Iberian upwelling implied by ERA-40 and ERA-Interim reanalyses

Variability of Iberian upwelling implied by ERA-40 and ERA-Interim reanalyses

Blog Article

The Regional Ocean Modeling System ocean model is used to simulate the decadal evolution of the regional waters in offshore Iberia in response to atmospheric fields given by ECMWF ERA-40 (1961–2001) and ERA-Interim (1989–2008) here reanalyses.The simulated sea surface temperature (SST) fields are verified against satellite AVHRR SST, and they are analysed to characterise the variability and trends of coastal upwelling in the region.Opposing trends in upwelling frequency are found discount greenery at the northern limit, where upwelling has been decreasing in recent decades, and at its southern edge, where there is some evidence of increased upwelling.These results confirm previous observational studies and, more importantly, indicate that observed SST trends are not only due to changes in radiative or atmospheric heat fluxes alone but also due to changes in upwelling dynamics, suggesting that such a process may be relevant in climate change scenarios.