Satellite remote sensing reveals coastal upwelling events in the San Matías Gulf, northern Patagonia

Research using satellite and in-situ data reveals that the western San Matías Gulf in northern Patagonia, Argentina, experiences approximately six upwelling-favorable wind events per year during the austral summer. These events, driven by along-shore wind stress, can create cold water bands up to 10 km wide and 100 km long, with temperatures 1.5 °C lower than offshore waters.

• Analysis of the western San Matías Gulf on Argentina's northern continental shelf indicates that coastal upwelling events occur approximately 6 times per year during the austral summer. Satellite sea surface temperature (SST) data confirmed upwelling in 85% of these cases between 2000 and 2008.
• Specific upwelling events exhibit distinct spatial and thermal characteristics; for example, in February 2005, SST data showed a cold water band approximately 10 km wide and 100 km long along the west coast of the San Matías Gulf, with temperatures 1.5 °C lower than offshore waters.
• Coastal upwelling is identified as a dominant process for high-frequency near-shore temperature fluctuations, driven by along-shore wind stress. A single intense upwelling event is estimated to move approximately 1010 m3 of water to the sea surface, requiring a wind impulse of − 104 kg m− 1 s− 1 to create low SST bands.

APA

Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research (2025). Satellite remote sensing reveals coastal upwelling events in the San Matías Gulf, northern Patagonia. https://iai.int/es/pub_acad/satellite-remote-sensing-reveals-coastal-upwelling-events-in-the-san-matias-gulf-northern-patagonia/

Chicago

Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research. Satellite remote sensing reveals coastal upwelling events in the San Matías Gulf, northern Patagonia. 2025. https://iai.int/es/pub_acad/satellite-remote-sensing-reveals-coastal-upwelling-events-in-the-san-matias-gulf-northern-patagonia/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research |title=Satellite remote sensing reveals coastal upwelling events in the San Matías Gulf, northern Patagonia |date=16 January 2025 |url=https://iai.int/es/pub_acad/satellite-remote-sensing-reveals-coastal-upwelling-events-in-the-san-matias-gulf-northern-patagonia/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{interamericaninstituteforglobalchangeresearch2025satellite, author = {{Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research}}, title = {{Satellite remote sensing reveals coastal upwelling events in the San Matías Gulf, northern Patagonia}}, institution = {Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research}, year = {2025}, month = jan, url = {https://iai.int/es/pub_acad/satellite-remote-sensing-reveals-coastal-upwelling-events-in-the-san-matias-gulf-northern-patagonia/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }