Moisture Transport between the Caribbean Sea, the Eastern Tropical Pacific, and Northern South America and its Consequences for the Sea Surface Salinity
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.25268/bimc.invemar.2023.52.2.1205Keywords:
Atmospheric humidity balance, Low level jets, Sea surface salinity, Colombia Basin, , Panama BasinAbstract
Moisture transport between the Caribbean and the eastern tropical Pacific is funneled in low-level jets and has effects on oceanography, with repercussions on global circulation. To understand how much water is transported on different time scales, what is the role of low-level jets, and their relationship with surface salinity in the Colombia (Caribbean) and Panama (Pacific) basins, data from ERA5 were used to calculate the moisture balances of each catchment area, and data from GODAS to estimate the surface salinity. The absolute values of moisture transport in the jets were greater than those of the entire boundaries. There is moisture transport in the opposite direction to the jets at higher levels of the atmosphere. The average conditions of the balances, as well as their annual and inter-annual variability, are related to the salinity conditions of the sea. The net atmospheric balance of the Caribbean catchment area is negative, generating conditions of higher salt concentration, while that of the Pacific is positive, generating dilution. At the seasonal and inter annual scales, the atmospheric balances and their salinity response indicate important differences between the two slopes.
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