Galápagos upwelling driven by localized wind–front interactions

Abstract The Galápagos archipelago, rising from the eastern equatorial Pacific Ocean some 900 km off the South American mainland, hosts an iconic and globally significant biological hotspot. The islands are renowned for their unique wealth of endemic species, which inspired Charles Darwin’s theory o...

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Main Authors:	Alexander Forryan, Alberto C. Naveira Garabato, Clément Vic, A. J. George Nurser, Alexander R. Hearn
Format:	article
Language:	EN
Published:	Nature Portfolio 2021
Subjects:	Medicine R Science Q
Online Access:	https://doaj.org/article/bff78abf700e41bba6139331ef5df1ef
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:bff78abf700e41bba6139331ef5df1ef2021-12-02T14:01:36ZGalápagos upwelling driven by localized wind–front interactions10.1038/s41598-020-80609-22045-2322https://doaj.org/article/bff78abf700e41bba6139331ef5df1ef2021-01-01T00:00:00Zhttps://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-80609-2https://doaj.org/toc/2045-2322Abstract The Galápagos archipelago, rising from the eastern equatorial Pacific Ocean some 900 km off the South American mainland, hosts an iconic and globally significant biological hotspot. The islands are renowned for their unique wealth of endemic species, which inspired Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution and today underpins one of the largest UNESCO World Heritage Sites and Marine Reserves on Earth. The regional ecosystem is sustained by strongly seasonal oceanic upwelling events—upward surges of cool, nutrient-rich deep waters that fuel the growth of the phytoplankton upon which the entire ecosystem thrives. Yet despite its critical life-supporting role, the upwelling’s controlling factors remain undetermined. Here, we use a realistic model of the regional ocean circulation to show that the intensity of upwelling is governed by local northward winds, which generate vigorous submesoscale circulations at upper-ocean fronts to the west of the islands. These submesoscale flows drive upwelling of interior waters into the surface mixed layer. Our findings thus demonstrate that Galápagos upwelling is controlled by highly localized atmosphere–ocean interactions, and call for a focus on these processes in assessing and mitigating the regional ecosystem’s vulnerability to 21st-century climate change.Alexander ForryanAlberto C. Naveira GarabatoClément VicA. J. George NurserAlexander R. HearnNature PortfolioarticleMedicineRScienceQENScientific Reports, Vol 11, Iss 1, Pp 1-12 (2021)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	Medicine R Science Q
spellingShingle	Medicine R Science Q Alexander Forryan Alberto C. Naveira Garabato Clément Vic A. J. George Nurser Alexander R. Hearn Galápagos upwelling driven by localized wind–front interactions
description	Abstract The Galápagos archipelago, rising from the eastern equatorial Pacific Ocean some 900 km off the South American mainland, hosts an iconic and globally significant biological hotspot. The islands are renowned for their unique wealth of endemic species, which inspired Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution and today underpins one of the largest UNESCO World Heritage Sites and Marine Reserves on Earth. The regional ecosystem is sustained by strongly seasonal oceanic upwelling events—upward surges of cool, nutrient-rich deep waters that fuel the growth of the phytoplankton upon which the entire ecosystem thrives. Yet despite its critical life-supporting role, the upwelling’s controlling factors remain undetermined. Here, we use a realistic model of the regional ocean circulation to show that the intensity of upwelling is governed by local northward winds, which generate vigorous submesoscale circulations at upper-ocean fronts to the west of the islands. These submesoscale flows drive upwelling of interior waters into the surface mixed layer. Our findings thus demonstrate that Galápagos upwelling is controlled by highly localized atmosphere–ocean interactions, and call for a focus on these processes in assessing and mitigating the regional ecosystem’s vulnerability to 21st-century climate change.
format	article
author	Alexander Forryan Alberto C. Naveira Garabato Clément Vic A. J. George Nurser Alexander R. Hearn
author_facet	Alexander Forryan Alberto C. Naveira Garabato Clément Vic A. J. George Nurser Alexander R. Hearn
author_sort	Alexander Forryan
title	Galápagos upwelling driven by localized wind–front interactions
title_short	Galápagos upwelling driven by localized wind–front interactions
title_full	Galápagos upwelling driven by localized wind–front interactions
title_fullStr	Galápagos upwelling driven by localized wind–front interactions
title_full_unstemmed	Galápagos upwelling driven by localized wind–front interactions
title_sort	galápagos upwelling driven by localized wind–front interactions
publisher	Nature Portfolio
publishDate	2021
url	https://doaj.org/article/bff78abf700e41bba6139331ef5df1ef
work_keys_str_mv	AT alexanderforryan galapagosupwellingdrivenbylocalizedwindfrontinteractions AT albertocnaveiragarabato galapagosupwellingdrivenbylocalizedwindfrontinteractions AT clementvic galapagosupwellingdrivenbylocalizedwindfrontinteractions AT ajgeorgenurser galapagosupwellingdrivenbylocalizedwindfrontinteractions AT alexanderrhearn galapagosupwellingdrivenbylocalizedwindfrontinteractions
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Galápagos upwelling driven by localized wind–front interactions

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