"Hidden" Coastal Upwelling on the Southeast Florida Shelf
Location
OC Auditorium
Start Date
10-4-2026 3:00 PM
Description
Coastal upwelling is usually associated with wind-driven processes along eastern ocean boundaries such as the California coast. Along the Southeast Florida Shelf, however, interactions between ocean eddies and seafloor topography can drive a different form of subsurface upwelling that often remains “hidden” beneath the strongly stratified summer surface layer. Our observations from ship-based and moored instruments, together with Wirewalker and Slocum glider measurements, show that this process significantly influences bottom water temperature and nutrient supply. These findings highlight an important but previously underappreciated physical driver of environmental variability affecting coral reef ecosystems in Southeast Florida.
"Hidden" Coastal Upwelling on the Southeast Florida Shelf
OC Auditorium
Coastal upwelling is usually associated with wind-driven processes along eastern ocean boundaries such as the California coast. Along the Southeast Florida Shelf, however, interactions between ocean eddies and seafloor topography can drive a different form of subsurface upwelling that often remains “hidden” beneath the strongly stratified summer surface layer. Our observations from ship-based and moored instruments, together with Wirewalker and Slocum glider measurements, show that this process significantly influences bottom water temperature and nutrient supply. These findings highlight an important but previously underappreciated physical driver of environmental variability affecting coral reef ecosystems in Southeast Florida.