Oceanography of the Reef Corridor of the Southwestern Gulf of Mexico

Oceanography of the coastal zone as an interdisciplinary science has received little attention, as most of the studies focus either on the physical oceanography or on the marine ecosystems, independently. The reef corridor of the Southwestern Gulf of Mexico offers the unique opportunity of doing research on meteorological events which affected currents, water masses and tides, but also the interaction with the many coral reefs found on the study region. The presence of these reefs interacts with the oceanographic processes, for example, by diffracting or refracting the tidal waves at different frequencies. These interactions have consequences on the biological and chemical composition of the water masses and drive the exchange of larvae between the reefs located on the northern, central and southern coast of the Southwestern Gulf of Mexico and even more remote areas such as the Caribbean or Florida. Yet, the oceanography of this region is poorly understood and more so the interactions with the important coastal ecosystems located along the coast. More studies relating oceanographic factors with biological processes in a scenario of global and local changes are needed. This work presents research on open questions dealing with the climatology of cold surges, the movement of water masses and tides, the upwelling and fertilizing process related to a permanent cyclonic eddy and the variability of chemical and biological processes related to the complex hydrodynamics on a coral reef system. One of the main objectives of this book is pointing to the need of interdisciplinary research to understand the process that drives changes on the coastal ecosystems at local, regional and global scales. Contents 6 Preface 8 Acknowledgments 10 Chapter 1 12 A Statistical Analysis of Cold Surge Events and Their Relationship with ENSO Years 12 Abstract 12 Introduction 13 Methods 15 Results 21 General Features of Cold Surges Events during the Warm and Cold Phases of ENSO (El Niño Southern Oscillation) 21 General Features of an Average Cold-Surge Event from a Temporal Perspective 25 Seasonal Spectral Analysis of Cold-Surge Events 27 Relationship between Cold Surges Events and the El Niño and the La Niña Events 28 Climatology of Cold Surges Events: Statistical Analysis of Cold Surges per Year 36 Discussion 37 Conclusion 43 References 44 Chapter 2 50 Features and Circulation of Water Masses in the Reef Corridor of the Southwestern Gulf of Mexico 50 Abstract 51 Introduction 52 Methods 53 Results 58 Water Masses 58 Current Patterns through Time 60 Discussion 66 Conclusion 72 References 73 Chapter 3 78 Tides in the Reef Corridor of the Southwestern Gulf of Mexico 78 Abstract 79 Introduction 80 Methods 81 Results 85 Tides at the Northern Location of the Reef Corridor 85 Harmonic Analysis of the TXT Gauge and ADCP Time Series 85 Tides at the Central Area of the Reef Corridor 87 Harmonic Analysis of the VERG Gauge and ADCP Time Series 88 Tides at the Southern Location of the Reef Corridor 92 Harmonic Analysis of the COATG Gauge 92 Phases of the Main Tidal Harmonics Represented in Hovmöller Diagrams 95 Discussion 95 Conclusion 99 References 101 Chapter 4 104 Oceanographic and Mixed Layer Fluctuations of a Cyclonic Eddy in the Southwestern Gulf of Mexico 104 Abstract 104 Introduction 105 Methods 106 Results 107 Discussion 111 Conclusion 113 References 114 Chapter 5 118 Oceanographic Parameter Variation of a Coral Larvae Reef Provider in the Reef Corridor of the Southwestern Gulf of Mexico 118 Abstract 119 Introduction 119 Methods 124 Results 124 Discussion 130 Conclusion 133 References 135 List of Contributors 142 Index 146 Blank Page -1