Publications by authors named "Elbio D Palma"
A high-resolution model is used to characterize the dominant patterns of sea surface salinity (SSS) variability generated by the freshwater discharges of the Rio de la Plata (RdlP) and the Patos/Mirim Lagoon in the southwestern Atlantic region. We identify three dominant modes of SSS variability. The first two, which have been discussed in previous studies, represent the seasonal and the interannual variations of the freshwater plumes over the continental shelf.
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- Satellite data from Aquarius and SMOS were used to analyze sea surface salinity (SSS) variations and shelf-open ocean exchanges near 35°S in the western South Atlantic, revealing significant seasonal patterns in SSS.
- In spring and summer, low-salinity shelf waters expand offshore primarily southeast of river mouths, while in fall and winter, these waters follow a coastal plume to the open ocean.
- The export patterns of these waters are influenced by wind stress and specific oceanic circulation features, resulting in unique low-salinity water dynamics during different seasons.
Altimeter sea surface height (SSH) fields are analyzed to define and discuss the seasonal circulation over the wide continental shelf in the SW Atlantic Ocean (27°-43°S) during 2001-2012. Seasonal variability is low south of the Rio de la Plata (RdlP), where winds and currents remain equatorward for most of the year. Winds and currents in the central and northern parts of our domain are also equatorward during autumn and winter but reverse to become poleward during spring and summer.
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