(MScRes Thesis) El Niño-Induced Upwelling Variability in the Central Tropical Pacific Ocean
Published in MSc Thesis, 2020
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Abstract
Coral reefs are extremely sensitive ecosystems to climate change and especially to the warming oceans. Since 1980, three massive El Niño-associated heat stress periods triggered widespread bleaching events in the tropical Pacific that sometimes led to coral mortality. The understanding of potentially mitigating phenomena is crucial to choose where to focus conservation efforts. Through its capacity to bring cool, nutrient-enriched water in the warm oligotrophic shallows, upwelling can provide heat shelters for nearshore ecosystems. Little is known about the dynamics of upwelling during El Niño in the central tropical Pacific. Using ten years of subsurface temperature data and a thermocline depth reanalysis product, we here study the interconnections between upwelling intensity, thermocline depth and El Niño event sin the central tropical Pacific.
Recommended citation: Robin Guillaume-Castel, "El Niño-Induced Upwelling Variability in the Central Tropical Pacific Ocean." MScRes Thesis, 2020.
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