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Email the author (Login required) Annual cycle of the satellite chlorophyll-a in the Juan Fernandez archipelago (33ºS), Chile
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3856/vol40-issue3-fulltext-14
Abstract
The spatial and temporal variability of the annual cycle of chlorophyll-a in the Juan Fernandez archipelago is analyzed through eight years of satellite data of chlorophyll-a, wind, currents and sea level. This archipelago consists of three islands: Robinson Crusoe-Santa Clara (RC-SC) and Alexander Selkirk (AS). The RC-SC islands are in a region of high eddy kinetic energy and higher concentrations of chlorophyll-a, defined as Coastal Transition Zone, whereas the AS island is in a region with low eddy kinetic energy and lower concentrations of chlorophyll-a called Oceanic Zone. RC-SC has an increase in chlorophyll-a concentrations on the southwest side, while AS has its highest concentrations on the west side, indicating the presence of different forcing. On both islands the annual cycle of chlorophyll is significant and begins to increase in April, reaching relatively high values between June and November, decreasing to its lowest values in December, reaching a minimum in late March. This annual cycle does not appear related with the wind, but it appears related with the eddy kinetic energy. The increase of chlorophyll-a in winter is associated with mesoscale eddies coming from continental region, while spring increases could be associated with local processes linked to the "island mass effect". On both islands, it appears a significant increase in chlorophyll-a in the annual and bi-annual bands, but only in AS was found a significant inter-annual fluctuation linked with the El Niño and the Southern Oscillation.
