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Redalyc.Variabilidad Espacial De Condiciones Bio-Ópticas De La Ciencia y Tecnología del Mar ISSN: 0716-2006 [email protected] Comité Oceanográfico Nacional Chile Pizarro, Gemita; Montecino, Vivian; Astoreca, Rosa; Alarcón, Gadiel; Yuras, Gabriel; Guzmán, Leonardo Variabilidad espacial de condiciones bio-ópticas de la columna de agua entre las costas de Chile insular y continental. primavera 1999 y 2000 Ciencia y Tecnología del Mar, vol. 29, núm. 1, marzo, 2006, pp. 45-58 Comité Oceanográfico Nacional Valparaíso, Chile Disponible en: http://www.redalyc.org/articulo.oa?id=62429104 Cómo citar el artículo Número completo Sistema de Información Científica Más información del artículo Red de Revistas Científicas de América Latina, el Caribe, España y Portugal Página de la revista en redalyc.org Proyecto académico sin fines de lucro, desarrollado bajo la iniciativa de acceso abierto Cienc. Tecnol. Mar, 29 (1): 45-58, 2006Variabilidad espacial de condiciones bio-ópticas 45 VARIABILIDAD ESPACIAL DE CONDICIONES BIO-ÓPTICAS DE LA COLUMNA DE AGUA ENTRE LAS COSTAS DE CHILE INSULAR Y CONTINENTAL. PRIMAVERA 1999 Y 2000* SPATIAL VARIABILITY OF BIO-OPTICAL CONDITIONS IN THE WATER COLUMN BETWEEN THE CHILEAN OCEANIC-ISLANDS AND CONTINENTAL CHILE. SPRING 1999 AND 2000* GEMITA PIZARRO 1, VIVIAN MONTECINO 2, ROSA ASTORECA 2, GADIEL ALARCÓN 3, GABRIEL YURAS 3 LEONARDO GUZMÁN 1 1 Instituto de Fomento Pesquero. Casilla 101. Punta Arenas 2 Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Chile. Casilla 653. Santiago 3 Programa de Oceanografía Física y Clima, Universidad de Concepción. Casilla 160-C. Concepción. Recepción: 28 de noviembre de 2003 - Versión corregida aceptada: 19 de enero de 2006. RESUMEN En Chile septentrional, existe una extensa área oceánica asociada a varias islas alejadas de la costa. Están las islas San Ambrosio (26o 18’ S - 79o 53’ W), San Félix (26o 16’ S - 80o 05’ W), Salas y Gómez (26o 27’ S - 105o 22’ W) y Pascua (27o 06’ S - 109o 12’ W), frente a Caldera. En Chile central se encuentran las islas Alejandro Selkirk (33o 35’ S - 78o 51’ W) y Robinson Crusoe (33o 45’ S - 80o 51’ W). El área oceánica comprendida entre estas islas y el margen continental es poco conocida en lo relativo a la caracterización y variabilidad de las condiciones bio-ópticas, tendientes a validar los algoritmos para estimar la producción primaria global y sinópticamente a partir de la cuantificación de la concentración de clorofila a (CL-a) de imágenes satelitales del color del océano (SeaWifs). En 1999 y 2000 se realizaron dos expediciones oceanográficas al área oceánica antes descrita, en que se registraron las condiciones bio-ópticas que permi- tieron establecer los márgenes de variabilidad de la concentración de CL-a y el límite occidental de la influen- cia del sistema de corriente de Humboldt en su distribución. También se detectó una alta transparencia o (bajos valores de extinción de PAR), de la columna de agua oceánica más allá de los 700 km de distancia desde la costa. Este resultado confirmó la alta transparencia registrada previamente en aguas oceánicas frente a Antofagasta durante el evento El Niño 1997-98. La distribución de esta característica bio- óptica está asociada a la distancia desde la costa en que se produce el núcleo de máxima concentra- ción de CL-a (NMCL-a). El tamaño y la magnitud de la CL-a máxima de este núcleo varían interanualmente probablemente relacionado con la dinámica de la zona de transición costera. Hacia el sur y frente a Caldera (33o S) el NMCL-a se estrecha y se aleja menos de la costa, en tanto la concentración máxima de CL-a disminuye en magnitud, alcanzando una profundidad tres veces mayor a la que alcanza a los 27o S (desde 7- 10 m hasta 30 m). A la luz de los recientes estudios en la zona de transición costera de Chile, diferencias en la topografía del margen costero así como la dinámica espacio temporal de remolinos y meandros que se extienden más allá de los 600 km de distancia de la costa, podrían ser factores que están afectando fuertemente la variabilidad de las condiciones bio-ópticas registradas durante este estudio. Palabras claves: Concentración de clorofila a, clorofila satelital (SeaWiFs), coeficiente de atenuación difusa de radiación fotosintéticamente activa y espectral. * Proyectos CONA-C5I 99-18 y CONA-C6I 00-15 46 Revista Ciencia y Tecnología del Mar, Vol. 29 (1) - 2006 ABSTRACT Off Chile, there is a large oceanic zone associated with far-distance islands at septentrional latitudes off Caldera. These are San Ambrosio (26o 18’ S - 79o 53’ W), San Félix (26o 16’ S - 80o 05’ W), Salas y Gómez Island (26o 27’S - 105o 22’ W) and Easter Island (27o 06’ S - 109o 12’ W). In central Chile the islands are Alejandro Selkirk (33o 35’ S – 78o 51’ W) and Robinson Crusoe (33o 45’ S - 80o 51’ W). These areas are bio- optically poorly known, including its characterization and variability for the validation of algorithms towards primary productivity estimations from chlorophyll a (CL-a) measurements using satellite images such as SeaWiFs. In 1999 and 2000 through two oceanographic expeditions, a data base was started in order to establish the ranges and distribution of CL-a, including the western limit of influence of the Humboldt Current system. It was also established that this waters at 700 km from the coast are extremely clear- low PAR extinction coefficients- as it was the case for oceanic waters off 200 km of Antofagasta. Results indeed confirmed the high water transparency and its distributions that were associated to the distance from the coast of the nucleous of maximum CL-a concentration (NMCL-a). The size and the maximum CL-a values of this nucleous varied interannually. At the more southern latitudes the NMCL-a was narrower and shortened its distance from the coast, while the maximum CL-a concentration diminished and the depth distribution depth increased (from 7 or 10 m to 30 m). In addition to the topographic differences of the coastal margin, based on recent information on the coastal transition zone there are important spatio-temporal differences of meanders and eddies located 600 km farther offshore that are closely related with the bio-optical variability found in this study. Key words: Chlorophyll a concentration, satelital chlorophyll (SeaWifs), diffuse attenuation coefficient of active and spectral photosynthetic radiation. INTRODUCCIÓN Chile. No obstante, existe una extensa área oceánica asociada a varias islas alejadas de la costa: Islas Durante los últimos 20 años, los oceanógrafos San Ambrosio (26o 18’ S - 79o 53’ W), San Félix (26o físicos, biogeoquímicos y otros investigadores, han 16’ S - 80o 05’ W), Salas y Gómez (26o 27’ S - 105o dirigido su atención a dilucidar el rol de los océa- 22’ W) y Pascua (27o 06’ S - 109o 12’ W), todas nos en el secuestro del carbono atmosférico, y la situadas frente a Chile septentrional (a la latitud de vinculación de este gas, con la variabilidad global Caldera, 27o S) donde se tienen pocos anteceden- que está experimentando el clima terrestre. La cap- tes. En Chile central, se encuentran las islas Alejan- tación de carbono atmosférico se encuentra ligado dro Selkirk (33o 35’ S - 78o 51’ W) y Robinson Crusoe al equilibrio de gases que se establece entre el (33o 45’ S - 80o 51’ W). Sin embargo los estudios océano y la atmósfera. Así es como la fijación del oceanográficos que incluyen esta gran extensión CO2 disuelto en la columna de agua por parte del oceánica aún son escasos debido a los costos fitoplancton, actúa como una bomba de succión involucrados que derivan de las expediciones del carbono troposférico hacia las profundidades oceanográficas sinópticas más allá de los 200 km oceánicas convertida en materia orgánica. Tal con- de distancia desde la costa. Consecuentemente, la versión del CO2 a materia orgánica, producción pri- información sobre el estado bio-óptico de las aguas maria, es realizada por el fitoplancton mediante el oceánicas de Chile continental y también costeras e proceso de fotosíntesis y biosíntesis mediado por insular aún es escasa como para validar los la disponibilidad en calidad y cantidad de luz algoritmos tendientes a estimar global y fotosintéticamente activa (PAR) en el medio. sinópticamente en base a las imágenes satelitales del color del océano (SeaWifs), la producción pri- En el océano Pacífico frente a Chile, tales in- maria a partir de la cuantificación de la concentra- vestigaciones han tenido un especial interés debi- ción de clorofila a. do a la gran cobertura latitudinal de su costa. Su sector septentrional se encuentra influenciado por Durante 1999 y 2000 se realizaron dos el sistema de corrientes de Humboldt (SCH) y pro- expediciones oceanográficas al área oceánica cesos de surgencia costera, convirtiéndolo en uno antes descrita. Aquí fue posible obtener una base de los más productivos del mundo en cuanto a las de datos conducente a la estimación de biomasa pesquerías (Strub et al., 1998). Sin embargo, la mediante sensores remotos que permitiera entre mayoría de los estudios de mesoescala han sido otros, conocer el límite occidental de influencia realizados dentro de los 200 km desde la costa del SCH en términos de la abundancia de la (e.g. Morales et al., 1996; Rutllant, et al., 1998; biomasa (clorofila a). También fue posible González et al., 1998; Morales et al., 1999; Iriarte cuantificar la alta transparencia de las aguas et al., 2000) incluyendo la costa centro-norte de oceánicas más allá de las 700 mn de la costa de Variabilidad espacial de condiciones bio-ópticas 47 acuerdo a los bajos valores de extinción de PAR do a un medidor digital portátil. Los coeficientes obtenidos en estudios oceanográficos realizados de extinción, KPAR, fueron calculados a partir de un en aguas oceánicas frente a las costas de perfil realizado en la columna de agua hasta los Antofagasta (Pizarro et al., 2002).
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