Publications des scientifiques de l'IRD

Sylla A., Mignot Juliette, Capet Xavier, Gaye A. T. (2019). Weakening of the Senegalo-Mauritanian upwelling system under climate change. Climate Dynamics, 53 (7-8), p. 4447-4473. ISSN 0930-7575.

Titre du document
Weakening of the Senegalo-Mauritanian upwelling system under climate change
Année de publication
2019
Type de document
Article référencé dans le Web of Science WOS:000489753900039
Auteurs
Sylla A., Mignot Juliette, Capet Xavier, Gaye A. T.
Source
Climate Dynamics, 2019, 53 (7-8), p. 4447-4473 ISSN 0930-7575
Upwelling processes bring nutrient-rich waters from the deep ocean to the surface. Areas of upwelling are often associated with high productivity, offering great economic value in terms of fisheries. The sensitivity of spring/summer-time coastal upwelling systems to climate change has recently received a lot of attention. Several studies have suggested that their intensity may increase in the future while other authors have shown decreasing intensity in their equatorward portions. Yet, recent observations do not show robust evidence of this intensification. The Senegalo-Mauritanian upwelling system (SMUS) located at the southern edge of the north Atlantic system (12 degrees N-20 degrees N) and most active in winter/spring has been largely excluded from these studies. Here, the seasonal cycle of the SMUS and its response to climate change is investigated in the database of the Coupled Models Inter comparison Project Phase 5 (CMIP5). Upwelling magnitude and surface signature are characterized by several sea surface temperature and wind stress indices. We highlight the ability of the climate models to reproduce the system, as well as their biases. The simulations suggest that the intensity of the SMUS winter/spring upwelling will moderately decrease in the future, primarily because of a reduction of the wind forcing linked to a northward shift of Azores anticyclone and a more regional modulation of the low pressures found over Northwest Africa. The implications of such an upwelling reduction on the ecosystems and local communities exploiting them remains very uncertain.
Plan de classement
Sciences fondamentales / Techniques d'analyse et de recherche [020] ; Sciences du milieu [021] ; Limnologie physique / Océanographie physique [032]
Description Géographique
ATLANTIQUE ; SENEGAL ; MAURITANIE
Localisation
Fonds IRD [F B010077136]
Identifiant IRD
fdi:010077136
Contact