Title
Freshwater exchanges and surface salinity in the Colombian basin, Caribbean Sea
Author
Emilio Beier
Contributor
Gladys Bernal (Collaborator)
Mauricio Ruiz-Ochoa (Collaborator)
eric barton (Collaborator)
Access level
Open Access
Alternative identifier
doi: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0182116
Subjects
sea water, fresh water, Article, Caribbean, dilution, dry season, El Nino, environmental parameters, evaporation, freshwater exchange, geographic distribution, molecular weight, oscillation, precipitation, river basin, salinity, seasonal variation, s - (SCOPUS) CIENCIAS FÍSICO MATEMÁTICAS Y CIENCIAS DE LA TIERRA - (CTI) CIENCIAS DE LA TIERRA Y DEL ESPACIO - (CTI) OCEANOGRAFÍA - (CTI) OCEANOGRAFÍA - (CTI)
Summary or description
Despite the heavy regional rainfall and considerable discharge of many rivers into the Colombian Basin, there have been few detailed studies about the dilution of Caribbean Surface Water and the variability of salinity in the southwestern Caribbean. An analysis of the precipitation, evaporation and runoff in relation to the climate variability demonstrates that although the salt balance in the Colombian Basin overall is in equilibrium, the area south of 12N is an important dilution sub-basin. In the southwest of the basin, in the region of the Panama-Colombia Gyre, Caribbean Sea Water is diluted by precipitation and runoff year round, while in the northeast, off La Guajira, its salinity increases from December to May by upwelling. At the interannual scale, continental runoff is related to El Niño Southern Oscillation, and precipitation and evaporation south of 12°N are related to the Caribbean Low Level Jet. During El Niño years the maximum salinification occurs in the dry season (December-February) while in La Niña years the maximum dilution (or freshening), reaching La Guajira Coastal Zone, occurs in the wet season (September-November). © 2017 Beier et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Publish date
2017
Publication type
Article
Publication version
Published Version
Information Resource
Format
application/pdf
Source
PLoS ONE, Vol.12, No.8, Pags. 1-19
Language
English
Citation suggestion
Beier E., Bernal G., Ruiz-Ochoa M., Barton E.D. 2017. Freshwater exchanges and surface salinity in the Colombian basin, Caribbean Sea. PLoS ONE 12(8): e0182116. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0182116
Source repository
Repositorio Institucional CICESE
Downloads
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