Eastern Boundary Upwelling Systems

About Us

A global false-colour compilation of satellite data on ocean chlorophyll from the MODIS Aquasensor for the year 2011 showing the California, Peru, Canary and Benguela ecosystems (white ovals). Satellite imagery courtesy of NASA. From Capone and Hutchins, 2013

Upwelling systems bring nutrient rich waters from the deep ocean to the surface. Areas of upwelling are often associated with highly productive oceanic regions, offering great economic value in terms of fisheries (see satellite image above showing surface chlorophyll concentrations off the west coast of America). Regions of upwelling are located in equatorial (Inter Tropical Convergence Zone, ITCZ) and coastal (eastern Pacific and Atlantic) regions of the ocean. Upwelling is driven by ocean surface winds. Consequently climatic events, causing shifts in prevailing winds (e.g. El Niño, the Indian Ocean Dipole and Tropical Atlantic Variability) can cause variations and reduction in the strength of upwelling systems. Present models of upwelling systems show large biases, impacting climate simulations. Consequently there is a need to identify the key physical processes that are responsible for upwelling and improving their representation in models. 

Download: Revised Prospectus for CLIVAR Research Focus on Eastern Boundary Upwelling Systems (RF-EBUS) (2018)

Members

Title Institute Role Year Country
Ryan Rykaczewski NOAA National Marine Fisheries Service Co-Chair USA
Alban Lazar L’Ocean Co-Chair France
Thomas Toniazzo Un. Bergen Co-Chair Norway
Martin Schmidt Leibniz Institute for Baltic Sea Research Warnemünde Member Germany
Annalisa Bracco Georgia Tech Member USA
Veronique Garcon LEGOS (SOLAS) Member France
Paquita Zuidema Un. Miami Member USA
Art Miller SCRIPPS Inst. Of Ocean. Member USA
Antonio Bode Spain Inst. Español de Oceanografia Member Spain
Uwe Send Scripps Institution of Oceanography Member USA
Rene Garreaud Universidad de Chile Member Chile
Jennifer Veitch South African Environmental Observation Network (SAEON) Member South Africa
Moussa Diakhaté Université Cheikh Anta Diop (UCAD) de Dakar Member Senegal
Marisol García-Reyes Farallon Institute for Advanced Ecosystem Research Member USA
Michael Jacox Southwest Fisheries Science Center (SWFSC), NOAA Member USA
Vincent Echevin LOCEAN Member France
Mathieu Rouault University of Cape Town Member South Africa

The ICPO contact for the CLIVAR EBUS RF is Jing Li.

Qian Zhao