Title
Dipole-wind interactions under gap wind jet conditions in the Gulf of Tehuantepec, Mexico: A surface drifter and satellite database analysis
Author
MAURO WILFRIDO SANTIAGO GARCIA
Contributor
ALEJANDRO FRANCISCO PARES SIERRA (Collaborator)
ARMANDO TRASVIÑA CASTRO (Collaborator)
Access level
Open Access
Alternative identifier
doi: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0226366
Subjects
article, dipole, leisure, Mexico, cold, ecosystem, factual database, geographic mapping, hurricane, Mexico, satellite imagery, season, water flow, wind, sea water, Cold Temperature, Cyclonic Storms, Databases, Factual, Ecosystem, Geographic Mapping, - (SCOPUS) CIENCIAS FÍSICO MATEMÁTICAS Y CIENCIAS DE LA TIERRA - (CTI) CIENCIAS DE LA TIERRA Y DEL ESPACIO - (CTI) OCEANOGRAFÍA - (CTI) OCEANOGRAFÍA - (CTI)
Summary or description
Gap wind jets (Tehuano winds) trigger supersquirts of colder water and mesoscale asymmetric dipoles in the Gulf of Tehuantepec (GT). However, the effects of successive gap wind jets on dipoles and their effects inside eddies have not yet been studied. Based on the wind fields, geostrophic currents, and surface drifter dispersion, this research documented three dipoles triggered and modified by Tehuano winds. Once a dipole develops, successive gap wind jets strengthen the vortices, and the anticyclonic eddy migrates southwestward while the cyclonic eddy is maintained on the east side of the GT. During the wind relaxation stage, the cyclonic eddy may propagate westward, but due to the subsequent re-intensification of the Tehuano winds, the vortex could break down, as was suggested by surface drifter dispersion pattern and geostrophic field data. The effect of the Tehuano winds was evaluating via eddy-Ekman pumping. Under Tehuano wind conditions, Ekman downwelling (upwelling) inside the anticyclonic (cyclonic) eddies may reach ~ -2.0 (0.5) m d-1 and decrease as the wind weakens. In the absence of Tehuano winds, Ekman downwelling inside the anticyclonic eddy was ~ 0.1 (-0.1) m d-1. The asymmetry of downwelling and upwelling inside eddies during Tehuano wind events may be associated with Tehuano wind forcing. © 2019 Santiago-García et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Publisher
Atsushi Fujimura, University of Guam, Guam
Publish date
2019
Publication type
Article
Publication version
Published Version
Information Resource
Format
application/pdf
Source
PLoS ONE, Vol.14, No.12, Pags. 1-23
Language
English
Citation suggestion
Santiago-García MW, Parés-Sierra AF, Trasviña A (2019) Dipole-wind interactions under gap wind jet conditions in the Gulf of Tehuantepec, Mexico: A surface drifter and satellite database analysis. PLoS ONE 14(12): e0226366. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0226366
Source repository
Repositorio Institucional CICESE
Downloads
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