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The salinity signature of the cross-shelf exchanges in the Southwestern Atlantic Ocean: Satellite observations

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  • Satellite‐derived sea surface salinity (SSS) data from Aquarius and SMOS are used to study the shelf‐open ocean exchanges in the western South Atlantic near 35°S. Away from the tropics, these exchanges cause the largest SSS variability throughout the South Atlantic. The data reveal a well‐defined seasonal pattern of SSS during the analyzed period and of the location of the export of low‐salinity shelf waters. In spring and summer, low‐salinity waters over the shelf expand offshore and are transferred to the open ocean primarily southeast of the river mouth (from 36°S to 37°30′S). In contrast, in fall and winter, low‐salinity waters extend along a coastal plume and the export path to the open ocean distributes along the offshore edge of the plume. The strong seasonal SSS pattern is modulated by the seasonality of the along‐shelf component of the wind stress over the shelf. However, the combined analysis of SSS, satellite‐derived sea surface elevation and surface velocity data suggest that the precise location of the export of shelf waters depends on offshore circulation patterns, such as the location of the Brazil Malvinas Confluence and mesoscale eddies and meanders of the Brazil Current. The satellite data indicate that in summer, mixtures of low‐salinity shelf waters are swiftly driven toward the ocean interior along the axis of the Brazil/Malvinas Confluence. In winter, episodic wind reversals force the low‐salinity coastal plume offshore where they mix with tropical waters within the Brazil Current and create a warmer variety of low‐salinity waters in the open ocean.
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  • Guerrero, R. A., Piola, A. R., Fenco, H., Matano, R. P., Combes, V., Chao, Y., James, C., Palma, E. D., Saraceno, M., & Ted Strub, P. (2014). The salinity signature of the cross-shelf exchanges in the Southwestern Atlantic Ocean: Satellite observations. Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans, 119(11), 7794–7810. doi:10.1002/2014JC010113
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  • 119
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  • 11
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  • This research was funded by Comisión Nacional de Actividades Espaciales and Ministerio de Ciencia, Tecnología eInnovación Productiva, Argentina grant 001 to A.R.P., E.D.P., and M.S. and grant 008 to R.A.G. and H.F. In addition, A.R.P., M.S., and E.D.P.acknowledge the support of grants SGP2076 and CRN3070 from the Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research, through the US National Science Foundation grants GEO-0452325 and GEO-1128040 and the partial support of Agencia Nacional de Promoción Científica y Tecnológica (Argentina) through Grant PICT-2012-0467. M.S. also acknowledge the support of UMETSAT/CNES DSP/OT/12-2118 and CONICET-YPF PIO 133-20130100242. R.P.M. acknowledges the financial support of NASA through grants NNX08AR40G and NNX12AF67G, NOAA through grant NA13OAR4310132 and the National Science Foundation through grant OCE-0928348. P.T. Strub acknowledges the financial support of NASA through grants NNX08AR40G. Y.C. is funded by the NASA Ocean Salinity Science Team grant at UCLA through a subcontract to grant NNX08AR40G.
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