The Upwelling and Cross-Shelf Exchanges of Patagonia

MATANO, R. P.; PALMA, E. D.

Foz do Iguacu

Congreso; 2010 Meeting of the Americas; 2010

American Geophysical Union

The Patagonian shelf is one of the most productive regions of theSouthern Ocean, in spite of the fact that its circulation is not drivenby upwelling favorable winds. Instead, the high productivity ofPatagonia is driven by the interaction of the Malvinas Current -anoffshoot of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current- with the bottomtopography. This interaction generates a distinct upwelling regimethat links the shelf to the deep ocean. In this presentation we discussthe dynamical processes controlling the upwelling of Patagonia andthe connection between the shelf and the deep ocean.