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Spatial and temporal variability of the island mass effect (IME; defined as local increases of phytoplankton associated with the presence of islands) at the Juan Fernández Archipelago (JFA) is analyzed using chlorophyll-a (Chl-a) satellite data, altimetry, sea surface temperature, wind, geostrophic currents and net heat flux over a ten year period (2002–2012). The the JFA islands (Robinson Crusoe-Santa Clara (RC-SC) and Alejandro Selkirk (AS)) present wakes with significant Chl-a increases, mainly during spring time. These wakes can reach Chl-a values of one order of magnitude higher (~1mgm−3) than the surrounding oligotrophic waters (<0.1mgm−3). The wakes are similar to von Kármán vortex streets which have been used to explain the impact of IME on Chl-a increases in numerical models. The wakes are formed from a high productivity area in the lee of the island, extending to the oceanic region as high Chl-a patches associated with submesoscale eddies that are detached from the islands and connected by less-productive zones. This pattern coincides with previous models that predict the effects of island-generated flow perturbations on biological production variability. The IME is a recurrent feature of islands that has even been observed in decadal average fields. In such average fields, the Chl-a values in RC-SC and AS islands can exceed values found in a Control Zone (a zone without islands) by ~50% and 30%, respectively. Seasonal and interannual variability reveals that, as a consequence of the IME, the winter Chl-a maximum associated with the development of winter convection and mesoscale eddies that propagate from the continental zone, promote that the Chl-a maximum extends towards spring. The IME has an impact on the island on both a local as well as a more regional scale that affects an area of ~40,000km2 (1°Latitude×4°Longitude) centered on the islands. The transport of high productivity patches associated with submesoscale eddies may be responsible for IME propagation at a regional scale. Around the islands, the presence of a weak oceanic incident flow and strong and recurrent wind-wakes, suggest that the generation of Chl-a wakes result from a combined effect between both forcings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: There are two zonal bands of eminently high eddy kinetic energy (EKE) in the North Pacific Ocean. The highest one is located in the Kuroshio Extension and the second one is in the subtropical area. This paper focuses on the latter. An eddy detection scheme based on velocity vector geometry is applied to the SSHA-derived geostrophic currents to identify and track eddies, and to generate an eddy dataset which includes spatial and temporal information on eddy generation, evolution and termination. Analysis of this dataset allowed the investigation of a broad range of eddy parameters. From 1993 to 2010, about six thousand eddies with lifetime longer than eight weeks were generated within the band. All eddies moved westward, and both cyclonic and anticyclonic eddies deflected northward south of 21°N and southward north of 21°N, respectively. Statistically, three different stages of an eddy''s lifetime can be identified: the first one-fifth of its lifetime corresponds to the growing period; the successive three-fifths after that to its stable stage; the last one-fifth to its decaying period. Observed Argo vertical profiles collected within the detected eddy areas are used to investigate the eddy-induced vertical displacement of the thermocline and the halocline. Frontal intensity derived from the SST data is used to explain the mechanism modulating temporal and spatial eddy variations within the zonal band. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The California Current System is described in its regional setting using two modern datasets. Argo provides a broadscale view of the entire eastern North Pacific Ocean for the period 2004–2010, and the High Resolution XBT Network includes transects from Honolulu to San Francisco (1991–2010) and to Los Angeles (2008–2010). Together these datasets describe a California Current of 500–800km width extending along the coast from 43°N to 23°N. The mean southward transport of the California Current is about 5Sv off Central and Southern California, with about 2.5Sv of northward flow on its inshore side. Interannual variations are 50% or more of the mean transports. The salinity minimum in the core of the California Current is supplied by the North Pacific Current and by freshwater from the northern continental shelf and modified by alongshore geostrophic and across-shore Ekman advection as well as eddy fluxes and air–sea exchange. The heat and freshwater content of the California Current vary in response to the fluctuating strength of the alongshore geostrophic flow. On its offshore side, the California Current is influenced by North Pacific Intermediate Waters at its deepest levels and by Eastern Subtropical Mode Waters on shallower density surfaces. In total, the sources of the California Current, its alongshore advection, and its strong interactions with the inshore upwelling region and the offshore gyre interior combine to make this a rich and diverse ecosystem. The present work reviews previous contributions to the regional oceanography, and uses the new datasets to paint a spatially and temporally more comprehensive description than was possible previously. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The ECCO–GODAE global estimate of the ocean circulation 1992–2007 is analyzed in the region of the Indonesian Throughflow (ITF), including the Southern Ocean flow south of Australia. General characteristics are an intense month-to-month noise, only weak trends, and an important annual cycle (which is not the focus of attention). Apart from the details of the unresolved flows within the various passages, and right on the equator, the region and its large-scale climate effects appears to be accurately diagnosed by large-scale geostrophic balance, so that the ITF can be calculated either from the upstream or the downstream balanced flow (but no simple reference level can be defined). The INSTANT program occurs during a more or less typical three-year period. Indications of response to the large 1997–1998 El Niño are weak. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]