Dynamic evolution of the 1997–1999 El Niño–La Niña cycle in the southern California Current System

The development of the strongest El Niño event on record in the equatorial Pacific in 1997–1998 and the rapid transition to strong La Niña conditions in 1998–1999 had a large impact on the physical and biological environment of the West Coast. We investigate the evolution of the physical structure and circulation dynamics of the southern California Current System (CCS) during this period based on hydrographic data collected on 25 cruises over a 45-month period (February 1996–October 1999). The El Niño period was characterized by a significant increase in dynamic height, extreme water mass characteristics, a strengthening and broadening of the poleward nearshore flow, and a temporary reversal of net alongshore transport. By early 1999, conditions in the CCS had reversed. The data suggest that remotely driven forcing (propagating oceanic waves) contributed to the anomalies observed during the El Niño period, while the cool-water conditions of 1999 were most likely a result of anomalous local atmospheric forcing.     

Impact of the 1997–1998 El Niño and 1999 La Niña on nutrient supply in the Gulf of Alaska

Nutrient surveys of the Gulf of Alaska, from 1997 through 1999, show that coastal waters of British Columbia and southern Alaska experienced nitrate depletion each spring and summer. Through the 1997–1998 El Niño, waters with less than 1 μM NO₃ covered 250,000 km² area greater than 1999. Silicate levels as low as 0.2 μM were observed in coastal waters, suggesting that diatom growth may have been nutrient limited both in 1998 and 1999. Detailed sampling off the southern coast of British Columbia revealed that 1998 nitrate levels were only half the average of that during the 1970s winter, were depleted 1 month earlier in spring and remained low throughout the summer. Satellite images show that, compared to 1997 and 1999, chlorophyll levels were much lower in the spring of 1998 throughout the coastal waters of the Gulf of Alaska. Conditions changed dramatically during the 1999 La Niña, with ocean-mixed layer depths increasing by 20 m in winter and 40 m in spring when compared to that during 1997–1998 El Niño. Winter nutrient levels increased and summer upwelling returned. Over the past several decades, a trend towards greater stratification of coastal waters appears to be affecting the supply of nutrients to the mixed layer. The effects of stratification were especially obvious during the 1998 El Niño.     

Contrasts in sedimentation flux below the southern California Current in late 1996 and during the El Niño event of 1997–1998

The vertical flux of particulate matter at 330 m depth in San Lázaro Basin off southern Baja California ranged from 63 to 587 mg m⁻² d⁻¹ between August and November 1996. Organic carbon contents were between 5.6 and 14.8%, yielding flux rates of 9–40 mgC m⁻² d⁻¹. In December 1997 and January 1998, at the height of the strong El Niño event, the respective fluxes (47–202 mg m⁻² d⁻¹ and 3–8 mgC m⁻² d⁻¹) were comparable. The February–June 1998 records, however, revealed sharply reduced mass (1–6 mg m⁻² d⁻¹) and organic carbon (0.2–0.8 mgC m⁻² d⁻¹) fluxes. The organics collected in 1996 were predominantly autochthonous (δ¹³C=−22‰; C/N=8). The variations in δ¹⁵N (8.3–11.0‰) suggest an alternation of new and regenerated production, possibly associated with fluctuations in the intensity of deep mixing during that autumn. The relatively high organic matter fluxes in December 1997 appear to be associated with regenerated production. The average composition from February to June 1998 (δ¹³C=−23.6‰; ¹⁵N=11.7‰; C/N=10.5) indicates degraded material of marine origin. The maximum δ¹⁵N value found (14‰) suggests that deeper, denitrified waters were brought to the surface and possibly advected laterally. Regime changes in the waters of the basin occur at 6–10 week intervals, evidenced by concurrent shifts in most of the measured parameters, including fecal pellet types and metal chemistry. The marine snow-dominated detritus collected showed a shift from a mixed diatom-rich-radiolarian-coccolith assemblage in late 1996 to a coccolith-dominated assemblage, including the contents of fecal pellets, during the 1997–1998 El-Niño period. T–S profiles, plankton analysis and chlorophyll contents of the upper water column indicated that the strong phytoplankton bloom, normally associated with seasonal upwelling along the Pacific coast of Baja, did not occur during the spring of 1998. The persistence of oligotrophic conditions during the 1997–1998 El Niño event favored the dominance of nanoplankton and reduced the vertical flux of particles.     

Biological and chemical consequences of the 1997–1998 El Niño in central California waters

The physical, chemical and biological perturbations in central California waters associated with the strong 1997–1998 El Niño are described and explained on the basis of time series collected from ships, moorings, tide gauges and satellites. The evolution of El Niño off California closely followed the pattern observed in the tropical Pacific. In June 1997 an anomalous influx of warm southerly waters, with weak signatures on coastal sea level and thermocline depth, marked the onset of El Niño in central California. The timing was consistent with propagation from the tropics via the equatorial and coastal wave-guide. By late 1997, the classical stratified ocean condition with a deep thermocline, high sea level, and warm sea surface temperature (SST) commonly associated with El Niño dominated the coastal zone. During the first half of 1998 the core of the California Current, which is normally detected several hundred kilometers from shore as a river of low salinity, low nutrient water, was hugging the coast. High nutrient, productive waters that occur in a north–south band from the coast to approximately 200 km offshore during cool years disappeared during El Niño. The nitrate in surface waters was less than 20% of normal and new production was reduced by close to 70%. The La Niña recovery phase began in the fall of 1998 when SSTs dropped below normal, and ocean productivity rebounded to higher than normal levels. The reduction in coastal California primary productivity associated with El Niño was estimated to be 50 million metric tons of carbon (5×10¹³ g C). This reduction certainly had deleterious effects on zooplankton, fish, and marine mammals. The 1992–1993 El Niño was more moderate than the 1997–1998 event, but because its duration was longer, its overall chemical and biological impact may have been comparable. How strongly the ecosystem responds to El Niño appears related to the longer-term background climatic state of the Pacific Ocean. The 1982–1983 and 1992–1993 El Niños occurred during the warm phase of the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO). The PDO may have changed sign during the 1997–1998 El Niño, resulting in weaker ecological effects than would otherwise have been predicted based on the strength of the temperature anomaly.     

Inorganic carbon in the central California upwelling system during the 1997–1999 El Niño–La Niña event

Sea surface pCO₂ was monitored during 49 cruises from February 1997 to December 1999 along a section perpendicular to the central California Coast. Continuous measurements of the ocean–atmosphere difference of pCO₂ were made on a mooring in the same region from July 1997 to December 1999. The El Niño/La Niña cycle of 1997–1999 had a significant influence on local ocean–atmosphere CO₂ transfer. During the warm anomaly associated with El Niño, upwelling was suppressed and average sea surface pCO₂ was below atmospheric level. High rainfall and river runoff in the late winter and early spring of 1998 produced areas where pCO₂ was depressed by as much as 100 μatm. A flux ranging from 0.3 to 0.7 mol C m⁻² y⁻¹ from the atmosphere into the ocean was estimated for the El Niño period from wind and ΔpCO₂ data. Temperatures and upwelling returned to near normal in the summer of 1998, but a cold anomaly developed during autumn of that year. Temperature and pCO₂ data indicate that upwelling continued throughout much of the 1998–1999 winter and intensified significantly in the spring of 1999. During strong upwelling events, the estimate of ocean to atmosphere flux approached rates of 50 mol C m⁻² y⁻¹. The estimate for the average CO₂ flux from July 1998 to July 1999 was 1.5–2.2 mol C m⁻² y⁻¹ from the ocean to the atmosphere. While the flux estimate for the El Niño time period may be applicable to a larger area, the high ocean to atmosphere fluxes during La Niña might be the result of sampling near a zone of intense upwelling.     

Changes in the cetacean assemblage of a coastal upwelling ecosystem during El Niño 1997–98 and La Niña 1999

We report results of ecosystem studies in Monterey Bay, California, during the summer upwelling periods, 1996–99, including impacts of El Niño 1997–98 and La Niña 1999. Random-systematic line-transect surveys of marine mammals were conducted monthly from August to November 1996, and from May to November 1997–99. CTDs and zooplankton net tows were conducted opportunistically, and at 10 predetermined locations. Hydroacoustic backscatter was measured continuously while underway to estimate prevalence of zooplankton, with emphasis on euphausiids, a key trophic link between primary production and higher trophic level consumers.The occurrences of several of the California Current’s most common cetaceans varied among years. The assemblage of odontocetes became more diverse during the El Niño with a temporary influx of warm-water species. Densities of cold-temperate Dall’s porpoise, Phocoenoides dalli, were greatest before the onset of El Niño, whereas warm-temperate common dolphins, Delphinus spp., were present only during the warm-water period associated with El Niño. Rorqual densities decreased in August 1997 as euphausiid backscatter was reduced. In 1998, as euphausiid backscatter slowly increased, rorqual densities increased sharply to the greatest observed values. Euphausiid backscatter further increased in 1999, whereas rorqual densities were similar to those observed during 1998. We hypothesize that a dramatic reduction in zooplankton biomass offshore during El Niño 1997–98 led to the concentration of rorquals in the remaining productive coastal upwelling areas, including Monterey Bay. These patterns exemplify short-term responses of cetaceans to large-scale changes in oceanic conditions.     

Multi-platform remote sensing of new production in central California during the 1997–1998 El Niño

The effects of the 1997–1999 El Niño/La Nina event on new primary production are examined using a physiologically based algorithm of nitrate uptake by phytoplankton for the Monterey Bay, California region. Primary inputs for the model come from temperature and phytoplankton biomass (chlorophyll) using both moorings and satellite observations, providing estimates of new production with higher spatial and temporal resolution as compared to traditional shipboard measurements. We observed significant decrease in new production values during the El Niño event, and a corresponding enhancement during La Niña as compared to the values during the El Niño period. The observed interannual changes in new production varied as a function of distance from shore, consistent with the hypothesis that productivity offshore from the upwelling center was impacted because of the suppression of the thermocline and nitracline associated with the ENSO event. There was less evidence for a significant downstream trend in new production values, suggesting that distance from shore is the predominant variable in spatial estimates of new production.     

1997–1998 El Niño off Peru: A numerical study

An eddy-resolving numerical simulation for the Peru–Chile system between 1993 and 2000 is analyzed, mainly for the 1997–1998 El Niño. Atmospheric and lateral oceanic forcings are realistic and contain a wide range of scales from days to interannual. The solution is validated against altimetric observations and the few in situ observations available. The simulated 1997–1998 El Niño closely resembles the real 1997–1998 El Niño in its time sequence of events. The two well-marked, sea-level peaks in May–June and November–December 1997 are reproduced with amplitudes close to those observed. Other sub-periods of the El Niño seem to be captured adequately. Simple dynamical analyses are performed to explain the 1997–1998 evolution of the upwelling in the model. The intensity of the upwelling appears to be determined by an interplay between alongshore, poleward advection (related to coastal trapped waves) and wind intensity, but also by the cross-shore geostrophic flow and distribution of the water masses on a scale of 1000 km or more (involving Rossby waves westward propagation and advection from equatorial currents). In particular, the delay of upwelling recovery until fall 1998 (i.e., well after the second El Niño peak) is partly due to the persistent advection of offshore stratified water toward the coast of Peru. Altimetry data suggest that these interpretations of the numerical solution also apply to the real ocean.     

Hydrography, nutrients and chlorophyll during El Niño and La Niña 1997–99 winters in the Gulf of the Farallones, California

Nutrient and chlorophyll concentrations were measured in January 1997, 1998 and 1999 in the Gulf of the Farallones, CA at locations stretching north/south from Point Reyes to Half Moon Bay, and seaward from the Golden Gate to the Farallon Islands. The cruises were all carried out during periods of high river flow, but under different climatological conditions with 1997 conditions described as relatively typical or ‘neutral/normal’, compared to the El Niño warmer water temperatures in 1998, and the cooler La Niña conditions in 1999. Near-shore sea-surface temperatures ranged from cold (9.5–10.5°C) during La Niña 1999, to average (11–13°C) during 1997 to warm (13.5–15°C) during El Niño 1998. Nutrients are supplied to the Gulf of the Farallones both from San Francisco Bay (SFB) and from oceanic sources, e.g. coastal upwelling near Point Reyes. Nutrient supplies are strongly influenced by the seasonal cycle of fall calms, with storms (commencing in January), and the spring transition to high pressure and northerly upwelling favorable winds. The major effect of El Niño and La Niña climatic conditions was to modulate the relative contribution of SFB to nutrient concentrations in the coastal waters of the Gulf of the Farallones; this was intensified during the El Niño winter and reduced during La Niña. During January 1998 (El Niño) the oceanic water was warm and had low or undetectable nitrate, that did not reach the coast. Instead, SFB dominated the supply of nutrients to the coastal waters. Additionally, these data indicate that silicate may be a good tracker of SFB water. In January, delta outflow into SFB produces low salinity, high silicate, high nitrate water that exits the bay at the Golden Gate and is advected northward along the coast. This occurred in both 1997 and 1998. However during January 1999, a La Niña, this SFB feature was reduced and the near-shore water was more characteristic of high salinity oceanic water penetrated all the way to the coast and was cold (10°C) and nutrient rich (16 μM NO₃, 30 μM Si(OH)₄). January chlorophyll concentrations ranged from 1–1.5 μg l⁻¹ in all years with the highest values measured in 1999 (2.5–3 μg l⁻¹) as a result of elevated nutrients in the area. The impact of climatic conditions on chlorophyll concentrations was not as pronounced as might be expected from the high temperatures and low nutrient concentrations measured offshore during El Niño due to the sustained supply of nutrients from the Bay supporting continued primary production.     

Nutrient variability during El Niño 1997–98 in the California current system off central California

Nutrient conditions off central California during the 1997–98 El Niño are described. Data were collected on 11 cruises from March 1997 to January 1999 along a hydrographic section off central California, as well as every two weeks at a coastal station in Monterey Bay. Perturbations associated with El Niño are shown as anomalies of thermohaline and nutrient distributions along this section. The anomalies were obtained by subtracting seasonal averages for the period from April 1988 to April 1991 from the 1997–98 observations. The first indications of El Niño conditions (high sea levels) were observed at Monterey between late May and early June 1997, but the coastal nutricline did not begin to deepen until August 1997. It reached maximum depth of 130 dbar in January 1998 at the time that maximum sea level anomalies were observed. During this period: (1) the highest subsurface temperature anomalies coincided with subsurface nutrient anomaly minima at the depth of the pycnocline; (2) southern saline and nutrient-poor waters occupied the upper 80 dbar of the water column along the entire section; and (3) nitrate levels were close to zero in the euphotic zone, collapsing the potential new primary production in the coastal domain. At the end of February 1998, the nutricline shoaled to 40 dbar at the coast although it remained anomalously deep offshore. Higher temperatures and lower nutrient levels were observed for the entire section through August 1998 although in contrast with the previous winter, there was a strong freshening mainly due to an onshore movement of subarctic waters.     

The coastal ocean off Oregon and northern California during the 1997–8 El Niño

The evolution and decay of El Niño 1997–8 was observed in coastal waters off Oregon in a sequence of cruises along 44.6°N from the coast to more than 150 km offshore. Hydrographic observations were made during eleven cruises between July 1997 and April 1999 at stations on the Newport Hydrographic Line, which had been occupied regularly from 1961 to 1971. The data from the earlier decade provide a basis for defining ‘normal’ conditions and allow comparisons with the recent El Niño in terms of T, S, spiciness and geostrophic velocity. Independent of El Niño, the ocean in July 1997 was already anomalously warm offshore of 50 km and above 100 m. By September 1997 there were unambiguous indications of El Niño: isotherms and isohalines sloped down toward the coast indicating poleward flow over shelf and slope, and anomalously spicy water was present at the shelf-break. In November 1997 and February 1998 shelf-break waters were even warmer, and there was strong poleward flow inshore of 100 km, extending to depths greater than 200 m. The April 1998 section closely resembled that of April 1983 (another El Niño year) but by June 1998 the anomalies were mostly gone. November 1998 was near normal and the sections from subsequent cruises resemble the mean sections from 1961–1971.Four cruises between November 1997 and November 1998 included sampling at several latitudes between 38° and 45°N. As expected, these sections show significant alongshore gradients, but also a surprising degree of homogeneity in the anomalous features associated with El Niño (in the temperature, salinity, spiciness and geostrophic velocity fields). The anomalous signature of El Niño was stronger at its winter peak in 1998 than in 1983, but the signature in the temperature and spiciness fields, and in coastal sea level, did not persist as long as in 1983. By April 1999, the coastal ocean from 38°N to 45°N was significantly colder than it had been in April 1984.     

Changes in the hydrography of Central California waters associated with the 1997–98 El Niño

Oceanographic conditions off Central California were monitored by means of a series of 13 hydrographic cruises between February 1997 and January 1999, which measured water properties along an oceanographic section perpendicular to the California Coast. The 1997–98 El Niño event was defined by higher than normal sea levels at Monterey, which began in June 1997, peaked in November 1997, and returned to normal in March 1998. The warming took place in two distinct periods. During June and July 1997, the sea level increased as a result of stronger than normal coastal warming below 200 dbars and within 100 km of the coast, which was associated with poleward flow of saltier waters. During this period, deeper (400–1000 dbar) waters between 150–200 km from shore were also warmed and became more saline. Subsequently, sea level continued to rise through January 1998, mostly as a result of the warming above 200 dbars although, after a brief period of cooling in September 1997, waters below 200 dbar were also warmer than normal during this period. This winter warm anomaly was also coastally trapped, extending 200 km from shore and was accompanied by cooler and fresher water in the offshore California current. In March and April 1998, sea level dropped quickly to normal levels and inshore waters were fresher and warmer than the previous spring and flowed southward.The warming was consistent with equatorial forcing of Central California waters via propagation of Kelvin or coastally-trapped waves. The observed change in heat content associated with the 1997–98 El Niño was the same as that observed during the previous seasonal cycle. The warming and freshening events were similar to events observed during the 1957–58 and 1982–83 El Niños.     

Effects of the 1997–1999 El Niño and La Niña events on zooplankton abundance and euphausiid community composition within the Monterey Bay coastal upwelling system

Zooplankton abundance and euphausiid community composition were sampled seasonally (spring, summer, fall) within Monterey Bay, California, between 1997 and 1999. Measurements of sea surface temperature (SST), mixed layer depth, and upwelling indices provided concurrent data on physical oceanographic parameters. Both total zooplankton and krill abundance dramatically declined in the summer of 1997 coincident with a rapid increase in SST and mixed layer depth. Changes in euphausiid community composition occurred in concert with the decline in overall abundance. The relative abundance of the southern neritic Nyctiphanes simplex increased from August to November in 1997, the abundance of cold temperate Euphausia pacifica decreased significantly, and that of the northern neritic Thysanoessa spinifera declined dramatically. The sudden appearance of an adult cohort of N. simplex in July 1997 suggests that rapid poleward flow characteristic of coastally trapped Kelvin waves occurred between June and July of 1997. The persistent presence of warm temperate and subtropical taxa in samples collected between August 1997 and October 1998 indicates that this poleward flow continued in 1998. Zooplankton abundance, euphausiid community composition, and physical oceanographic parameters gradually returned to a more typical upwelling-dominated state in the spring and summer of 1998. E. pacifica and T. spinifera abundances gradually increased during the summer and fall of 1998, while N. simplex abundance abruptly declined in the spring of 1998. However, this recovery was confined to a narrow coastal band as a result of the onshore movement of the oceanic waters of the California Current. This was reflected by higher than normal numbers of the oceanic Nematoscelis difficilis within samples collected during the spring and summer of 1998. By the spring and summer of 1999, both zooplankton and euphausiid abundance had increased to the highest levels recorded during the 3-year study. Both E. pacifica and T. spinifera abundance increased relative to 1998 while N. simplex was completely absent in all samples. These changes reflected the cooler, highly productive environmental conditions associated with the 1998/1999 La Niña.     

The evolution and depth structure of shelf and slope temperatures and velocities during the 1997–1998 El Niño near Point Conception, California

Moored, survey, and drifter observations are used to describe the evolution of temperature, sea level, velocity and salinity from 1997 to 1998 over the California shelf, between San Luis Obispo Bay and the eastern entrance to the Santa Barbara Channel. The dominant event during this time was the 1997–1998 El Niño. Its relation to background seasonal and interannual variability depended on which property is considered. Subsurface temperature and local sea level showed extreme anomalies between March 1997 and October 1998. Three distinct peaks occurred. The first two are associated with the regional response to El Niño, while the cause of the third remains unclear. The first peaked in June 1997, and decayed until August. The main El Niño peak reached maximum amplitude between November 1997 and January 1998. After the collapse of the regional El Niño anomaly in February 1998, a final peak occurred locally during the summer of 1998.The central result presented here concerns the spatial structure of temperature during these events. The initial peak was surface intensified and was barely detectable at 45 m. Its amplitude varied with position along the coast, decaying with distance north. The main peak showed a strong signal down to at least 200 m. The amplitude and timing of temperature anomalies during this event were depth dependent. The largest absolute amplitudes relative to seasonal cycles were in excess of 4 °C and occurred between 45 and 65 m depth. The anomalies reached their maximum values at later time with increasing depth, between October 1997 and January 1998. The amplitude of this main peak was comparable at all mooring sites. The final peak in August 1998 had a comparable amplitude at all mooring sites to a depth of 100 m. Temperature increases during the three events were accompanied by a corresponding rise in sea level.The El Niño signals in currents and salinity are more difficult to distinguish from background variability than those in temperatures and sea level. However, stronger than average poleward flow was observed at the eastern entrance to the Santa Barbara Channel between 5 and 100 m depth for most of 1997, and there are indications for greater than usual poleward flow over the Santa Maria Basin in fall 1997. Surface drifter evidence, although qualitative, also suggests greater than usual poleward displacement in November 1997 relative to other years. Along with increased temperature, survey observations of salinity suggest changes to the regional temperature–salinity relation during November 1997 with greater than usual salinity at temperatures below 12 °C.     

The 1997–1998 oceanic El Niño signal along the southeast and northeast Pacific boundaries—an altimetric view

Changes in the sea surface heights (SSH) and geostrophic currents along the eastern boundaries of the Pacific (North, Central and South America) are examined during the 1997–1998 El Niño using altimeter data and proxy winds. These show that ‘symmetric’ SSH signals left the equator and propagated into both Hemispheres in two episodes, with primary periods of high equatorial SSH during May–July and October–December 1997. These are the ‘distant signals’ from the mid-latitude perspective. As the signals spread poleward in each Hemisphere, their loss of symmetry demonstrates the degree to which they were altered by topographic features, local winds, and/or local currents. The first four EOFs are calculated for 2-D SSH fields in 10° wide strips along the eastern margins (60°N–60°S) and extending out along the equator from the coast to 110°W. These account for approximately 40% of the overall variability and represent the main features of the seasonal cycles and El Niño interannual variability. Snapshots of the 2-D SSH fields depict the structure of the El Niño signal at different phases of its evolution.     

Altimeter-derived surface circulation in the large-scale NE Pacific Gyres. : Part 2: 1997–1998 El Niño anomalies

Changes in the sea surface heights (SSH) and geostrophic transports in the NE Pacific are examined during the 1997–1998 El Niño using altimeter data, sea level pressure (SLP) fields, proxy winds and satellite sea surface temperature (SST). Most of the signal occurs along the boundaries of the basin from Panama to the Alaska Peninsula. Changes in the SSH and alongshore transports along the boundaries are caused both by propagation of signals from the south (stronger between the equator and the Gulf of California) and by local and basin-scale winds (stronger between the Pacific Northwest and the Alaska Peninsula). Two periods of high SSH occur at the equator, May–July 1997 and October 1997–January 1998. The first coastal SSH signal moved quickly polewards to approximately 24°N in early June, then stalled and moved farther north during transient events in July–September. Large-scale wind forcing combined with the equatorial signals during the second period of high equatorial SSH (Fall 1997) to move the high SSH and poleward transports quickly around the Alaska Gyre. A connection between the boundary currents and the interior North Pacific developed as part of the large-scale response to the basin-scale winds, after changes in the boundaries. Decreases in anomalies of SSH and poleward transports began in January 1998 south of 40°N and in February 1998 farther north.     

A poleward jet and an equatorward undercurrent observed off Oregon and northern California, during the 1997–98 El Niño

The timing and intensity of the effects of the 1997–98 El Niño on sea-surface temperature (SST) and coastal sea level along the US west coast are examined using in situ time-series measurements, and the effects on upper ocean currents on the continental shelf and slope off Oregon and northern California are examined using repeated shipborne ADCP transects, a mid-shelf mooring off Newport Oregon and an HF surface current radar. An initial transient positive anomaly was observed in both adjusted sea level and SST during May–June 1997, followed by anomalously high coastal sea levels, generally strongest during September 1997 through February 1998 and abruptly returned to normal in late February 1998, and by positive temperatures anomalies over the mid-shelf that persisted longer, into April 1998. Low-frequency coastal sea-level anomalies propagated poleward at 2.1 m/s. Poleward flow over the shelf and slope was enhanced at most depths during the El Niño, compared with following years. Northward currents in the upper 12 m over the continental shelf off Newport, Oregon averaged 13.7 cm/s stronger during August 1997 through February 1998 than during the same period the following year. Enhanced poleward flow was present at all latitudes sampled during November 1997 and February 1998, particularly over the continental slope. These transects also provided clear views of a fall/winter equatorward undercurrent, which was both strongest and had the most alongshore similarity of form, during the ENSO. Finally, subsurface-intensified anticyclonic eddies originating in the poleward undercurrent appear to be a recurrent feature of the circulation off Newport late in the upwelling season.     

The evolution of oceanic and atmospheric anomalies in the northeast Pacific during the El Niño and La Niña events of 1995–2001

From late 1995 through early 2001, three major interannual climate events occurred in the tropical Pacific; the 1995–97 La Niña (LN), 1997–98 El Niño (EN), and 1998–2001 LN. We analyze atmospheric and upper oceanic anomalies in the northeast Pacific (NEP) during these events, and compare them to anomalies both elsewhere in the north and tropical Pacific, and to typical EN and LN anomaly patterns. The atmospheric and oceanic anomalies varied strongly on intraseasonal and interannual scales. During the 1995–97 LN and 1997–98 EN, the Northeast Pacific was dominated by negative SLP and cyclonic wind anomalies, and by upper ocean temperature and sea surface height (SSH) anomalies. The latter were positive along the North American west coast and in the NEP thermal anomaly pool (between Hawaii, Vancouver Island, and Baja California), and negative in the central north Pacific. This atmospheric/oceanic anomaly pattern is typical of EN. An eastward shift in the atmospheric teleconnection from east Asia created EN-like anomalies in the NEP during the 1995–97 LN, well before the 1997–98 EN had begun. The persistence of negative sea-level pressure (SLP) and cyclonic wind anomalies in the NEP during the 1997–98 EN intensified pre-existing upper oceanic anomalies. Atmospheric anomalies were shifted eastward during late 1996–early 1998, leading to a similar onshore shift of oceanic anomalies. This produced exceptionally strong positive upper ocean temperature and SSH anomalies along the west coast during the 1997–98 EN, and explains the unusual coastal occurrences of several species of large pelagic warm-water fishes. The growth and eastward shift of these pre-existing anomalies does not appear to have been linked to tropical Pacific EN anomalies until late 1997, when a clear atmospheric teleconnection between the two regions developed. Prior to this, remote atmospheric impacts on the NEP were primarily from east Asia. As the 1998–2001 LN developed, NEP anomalies began reversing toward the typical LN pattern. This led to predominantly negative SLP and cyclonic wind anomalies in the NEP, and upper ocean temperature and SSH anomalies that were mainly negative along the west coast and positive in the central north Pacific. The persistence of these anomalies into mid-2001, and a number of concurrent biological changes in the NEP, suggest that a decadal climate shift may have occurred in late 1998.During 1995–2001, NEP oceanic anomalies tracked the overlying atmospheric anomalies, as indicated by the maintenance of a characteristic spatial relationship between these anomalies. In particular, wind stress curl and SSH anomalies in the NEP maintained an inverse relationship that strengthened and shifted eastward toward the west coast during late 1996–early 1998. This consistent relationship indicates that anomalous Ekman transport driven by regional atmospheric forcing was an important contributor to temperature and SSH anomalies in the NEP and CCS during the 1997–98 EN. Other studies have shown that coastal propagations originating from the tropical Pacific also may have contributed to coastal NEP anomalies during this EN. Our results indicate that at least some of this coastal anomaly signal may have been generated by regional atmospheric forcing within the NEP.     

Trophic modeling of the Northern Humboldt Current Ecosystem, Part I: Comparing trophic linkages under La Niña and El Niño conditions

The El Niño of 1997–98 was one of the strongest warming events of the past century; among many other effects, it impacted phytoplankton along the Peruvian coast by changing species composition and reducing biomass. While responses of the main fish resources to this natural perturbation are relatively well known, understanding the ecosystem response as a whole requires an ecotrophic multispecies approach. In this work, we construct trophic models of the Northern Humboldt Current Ecosystem (NHCE) and compare the La Niña (LN) years in 1995–96 with the El Niño (EN) years in 1997–98. The model area extends from 4°S–16°S and to 60 nm from the coast. The model consists of 32 functional groups of organisms and differs from previous trophic models of the Peruvian system through: (i) division of plankton into size classes to account for EN-associated changes and feeding preferences of small pelagic fish, (ii) increased division of demersal groups and separation of life history stages of hake, (iii) inclusion of mesopelagic fish, and (iv) incorporation of the jumbo squid (Dosidicus gigas), which became abundant following EN. Results show that EN reduced the size and organization of energy flows of the NHCE, but the overall functioning (proportion of energy flows used for respiration, consumption by predators, detritus and export) of the ecosystem was maintained. The reduction of diatom biomass during EN forced omnivorous planktivorous fish to switch to a more zooplankton-dominated diet, raising their trophic level. Consequently, in the EN model the trophic level increased for several predatory groups (mackerel, other large pelagics, sea birds, pinnipeds) and for fishery catch. A high modeled biomass of macrozooplankton was needed to balance the consumption by planktivores, especially during EN condition when observed diatoms biomass diminished dramatically. Despite overall lower planktivorous fish catches, the higher primary production required-to-catch ratio implied a stronger ecological impact of the fishery and stresses the need for precautionary management of fisheries during and after EN. During EN energetic indicators such as the lower primary production/total biomass ratio suggest a more energetically efficient ecosystem, while reduced network indicators such as the cycling index and relative ascendency indicate of a less organized state of the ecosystem. Compared to previous trophic models of the NHCE we observed: (i) a shrinking of ecosystem size in term of energy flows, (ii) slight changes in overall functioning (proportion of energy flows used for respiration, consumption by predators and detritus), and (iii) the use of alternate pathways leading to a higher ecological impact of the fishery for planktivorous fish.