Chapter 34: Southern Argentina: The Patagonian Continental Shelf.

GIL, MÓNICA ; GIARRATANO, ERICA; BARROS, VICENTE; BORTOLUS, ALEJANDRO ; CODIGNOTTO, JORGE O. ; SCHENKE, RICARDO DELFINO; GÓNGORA, MARÍA EVA ; LOVRICH, GUSTAVO; MONTI, ALEJANDRO; PASCUAL, MARCELA; RIVAS, ANDRES; TAGLIORETTE, ALICIA

World Seas: An Environmental Evaluation. Volume I: Europe, The Americas and West Africa. Second Edition.

Academic Press Elsevier

Año: 2019; p. 783 - 811

The Southeast South American shelf marine ecosystem extends over the entire continental shelf off the Eastern shores of Argentina, Uruguay and southeastern Brazil (23° to 55°S). The region south of 40ºS is usually known as Patagonian Continental Shelf of Argentina (PCSA). The intertidal environments of the Patagonian shore are among the most diverse of South America in terms of their environmental heterogeneity. The productivity distribution over the continental shelf is also heterogeneous and concentrates on the marine frontal zones. The Patagonian coast is one of the richest and most productive temperate marine ecosystems in the world. The sea near the Patagonian coast is one of the ocean regions in the world in which the smaller changes in its physical variables have been observed. There was a sea level rise in the region off shore of Patagonia, but the change was more moderated than in the global average. Patagonian coasts of Argentina have only 18 cities, many of them in full expansion. The population density in this area is below 4 inhabitants / km2. Despite industrial activities have been increasing in coastal cities in last decades, quality of coastal waters remains high. Argentina has an extensive legislation aimed to controlling marine pollution and protecting biodiversity. Despite the advances of the last decades, more efforts must be done to the effective conservation of marine ecosystems on the Patagonian coast.