Remote sensing of suspended matter plumes triggered by runoff in the south Gulf of California
2011; Volume: 26; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês
10.37543/oceanides.v26i1.91
ISSN2448-9123
AutoresGuillermo Martínez Flores, Enrique Hiparco Nava Sánchez, O. Zaitzev,
Tópico(s)Oil Spill Detection and Mitigation
ResumoRunoff from watersheds draining towards the coastal seas affects significantly the optical properties of these waters, and also has important implications in terms of supply of nutrients to the euphotic zone. This paper analyzes daily precipitation data in the basins draining into the Gulf of California during 2004- 2008, locating the river mouths activated by runoff processes on specific periods. This spatial and temporal demarcation sets the selection of MODIS-Aqua image bands level 1B, which applies algorithms in order to detect the total suspended matter (MST from the Spanish acronym) integrated in the surface layer of the sea. From total precipitation in these basins in the study period, the percentage of contribution per year (2004-2008) was 32, 14, 18, 16 and 20% respectively. Consequently, during the summer of 2004 effects of runoff were mostevident in MST images. The results show plumes of suspended matter associated with the discharge areas of the main rivers from the continental margin, and some of them reach distances up to ~60-100 km from the coastline. Standing out is a plume detected in August 2004, with coverage of 44,000 km2 extending ~300 km from the Nayarit coastline, in the area in front of the river mouths of Acaponeta, San Pedro, Santiago and Ameca.In general, the distribution of these plumes is controlled by the mesoscale circulation of the Gulf, being relevant the combined effect of anticyclonic eddies north of the river mouths and cyclonic eddies south of them.
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