HR: 0830h
AN: OS41A-09    [Abstracts]
TI: Preliminary mooring results at the entrance to the Gulf of California from May to November 2004.
AU: Mascarenhas, A S
EM: asmj@uabc.mx
AF: Instituto de Investigaciones Oceanologicas, Universidad Autonoma de Baja California, km 106, Carretera Tijuana-Ensenada, Ensenada, BC 22860 Mexico
AU: Collins, C A
EM: collins@nps.navy.mil
AF: Department of Oceanography, Naval Postgraduate School, 833 Dyer Road, Rm # 328, Monterey, CA 93943 United States
AU: * Castro, R
EM: rubenc@uabc.mx
AF: Facultad de Ciencias Marinas,Universidad Autonoma de Baja California, km 106, Carretera Tijuana-Ensenada, Ensenada, BC 22860 Mexico
AU: Navarro, L F
EM: lufena@uabc.mx
AF: Instituto de Investigaciones Oceanologicas, Universidad Autonoma de Baja California, km 106, Carretera Tijuana-Ensenada, Ensenada, BC 22860 Mexico
AU: Blanco, R
EM: rblanco@uabc.mx
AF: Instituto de Investigaciones Oceanologicas, Universidad Autonoma de Baja California, km 106, Carretera Tijuana-Ensenada, Ensenada, BC 22860 Mexico
AB: The preliminary results of two moorings at the entrance to the Gulf of California, from May to November 2004 are discussed. The mooring M1 (23o 28.58' N, 109o 23.34' W), off Cabo Pulmo, Baja California consisted of a ADCP workhorse broadband at 118 m and three MicroCats at 40, 79 and 118 m respectively. The mooring M2 (24o 02.15'N, 107o 51.40' W), off El Dorado, Sinaloa, consisted of a ADP Sontek 250 (KHz) at 115 m and also three MicroCats at 38, 77 and 115 m respectively. The low passed filtered pressures at the three depths in each site are highly coherent while the coherence between the pressures on opposite sides of the entrance at three depths is low, being high only at the diurnal and semidiurnal tidal frequencies. The pressure record at the three depths in the El Dorado side was dominated by two events that occurred on June 10 and October 23, 2004. The first event was preceded by an increase in salinity of about .30 at 40 m, as well as small increases at 80 and 120 m, all of which were associated to an increase in pressure, suggesting an intrusion of a saline vortex. The coherence of temperature and salinity measured at the two moorings was low indicating the difference in changes of thermohaline characteristics. The along shelf current direction was chosen as the principal axes for each current time series (Cabo Pulmo and El Dorado). As expected, the principal axes were aligned with the local isobaths on each shelf. On the Sinaloa shelf (El Dorado), the currents were strongly oriented along the shelf. Along shelf currents were stronger and less variable on the Baja California shelf (Cabo Pulmo). At El Dorado, with the exception of the strong event periods mentioned above when the current reached 0.5 ms-1, flow was weaker and more variable; periods of strong outlfow lasted for about 8 days. The vertically averaged flow at both sides of the entrance to the Gulf was directed out of the Gulf most of the time. This suggests that the persistent cyclonic circulation observed at the entrance to the Gulf by Castro et al. (2000) occurred in deep water.
DE: 4500 OCEANOGRAPHY: PHYSICAL
DE: 4516 Eastern boundary currents
DE: 4520 Eddies and mesoscale processes
DE: 4572 Upper ocean processes
SC: Ocean Sciences [OS]
MN: 2005 Joint Assembly