PREFACE-PIRATA-CLIVAR Tropical Atlantic Variability Conference, Cape Town (ZAF), 2015/08/25-27
South Atlantic Central Waters in the eastern subtropical Atlantic Ocean are characterized by an oxygen minimum zone which borders the shelf where coastal upwelling occurs. Hence waters depleted in oxygen are advected over the shelf where they undergo changes related to both physical and biological processes. Occurrence of hypoxia associated to demersal fish has been reported in the past. Since 2012, four oceanographic cruises have been carried out in Senegalese waters during the upwelling season. Two months of bottom oxygen variability has also been recorded between February and April 2015 at Melax buoy's location (14°20'N-17°13'W). These observations are completed with regional physical-biogeochemical modelling. In this study, we present the variability of bottom oxygen observed across the shelf and provide the context for hypoxic or even anoxic events to occur, which most likely impact demersal and pelagic habitats.
