Climate Change Impacts on the Patagonian Shelf Break Front
Bárbara C. Franco, Laura A. Ruiz‐Etcheverry, Marina Marrari, Alberto Piola, Ricardo P. Matano
Abstract
Abstract We characterize long‐term trends of sea surface temperature (SST), absolute dynamic topography, and chlorophyll‐ a (CHL) in the Patagonian shelf break front (SBF) using 27 years (1993–2019) of satellite data. Warming of the Argentinean shelf waters and the southwestward displacement of the Brazil‐Malvinas Confluence (BMC) impact the northernmost extension of the SBF. Cooling of the Malvinas Current (MC) and the concurrent warming of the adjacent shelf waters lead to a significant increase of SST gradients along the outer shelf. The southwestward displacement of the BMC implies a similar shift of the SBF. An increase in CHL trend appears to be associated with southerly wind anomalies along the shelf break. We estimate a southward shift of the northernmost penetration of the MC of −0.11 ± 0.076°/decade.