Spatiotemporal characterization of summer coastal upwelling events in Uruguay, South America

Abstract

This study analyses the spatial and temporal characteristics of coastal upwelling events in the Uruguayan coast using satellite data and the output of an atmospheric reanalysis. We focus on the most intense upwelling events which occurred on synoptic time scales during the summer season. We were able to distinguish two upwelling configurations associated to different wind conditions due to the coast orientation: an upwelling mainly located in the Río de la Plata estuary which responds to easterly winds, and an oceanic upwelling located in the eastern (oceanic) coast of Uruguay associated to northeasterly winds. Moreover, the frequency of occurrence of upwelling events on interannual time scales was found to depend on the phase of El Niño Southern Oscillation.