Observations of the 2014 warm anomaly in the Southern California Current

Uwe Send, University of California San Diego, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, San Diego, United States, Matthias J Lankhorst, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, United States, SungHyun Nam, Seoul National University, School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Seoul, South Korea, Hey-Jin Kim, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, La Jolla, CA, United States and Mark D Ohman, University of California San Diego, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, La Jolla, United States
Abstract:
Moored observations off Pt. Conception and Del Mar of physical and biogeochemical quantities are combined with wind and sealevel observations to elucidate the processes which lead to the anomalous warming in summer 2014 off southern California. Current measurements show enhanced and anomalous northward flow already in the preceding year. Wind data in the region and to the south are used to assess the intensity of upwelling circulations. Biogeochemical observations help to interpret the anomalies observed, and to relate them to alongshore and cross-shelf flow anomalies. It will be shown that preconditioning of the water column prior to the anomalous warming played an important role.
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