Upwelling Shadows Driven by the Low-Level Jet along the Subtropical West
Coast of South America: Gulf of Arauco, Chile
Abstract
Some bays of the subtropical west coast of South America, usually
protected from the winds, have been observed as upwelling shadows (US),
with anomalous high sea surface temperatures. Different arguments have
tried to explain it. Using observational, satellite-derived, and
reanalysis data, we studied the relationship between synoptic-scale
atmospheric phenomena and the US in one of these areas, the Gulf of
Arauco (GA), Chile (37°S), a highly valued one productive semi-enclosed
bay. With about nine years (2011 – 2019) of a daily global 1 km sea
surface temperature data set (G1SST) an upwelling shadow index permitted
identify 324 US days. Then, 40 upwelling shadow events, periods with at
least three consecutive US days, were found. The composite analysis
proposes that the migratory anticyclones moving eastward at southern
Chile induce coastal southerly wind intensification due to coastal
low-level jet (CLLJ) formation, which triggers upwelling shadows through
coastal upwelling outside of GA. The same anticyclone induces a warm
low-pressure area increasing the sea surface temperature (SST) inside
the Gulf. When the coastal low reaches its mature stage, wind magnitude
is reduced, and weak northerly winds are observed at the coast. The
weakening of the net convective fluxes, possibly due to this CLLJ
relaxation, also increases the SST and exacerbates the upwelling shadow.
Another process that could increase SST within the GA is the northerly
meridional advection of warm water. However, the observed warming rates
(>1◦C/day) suggest that it could only partially explain the
warming within the GA.