Shelf circulation, hydrography and chlorophyll-a variability Northwest of the Antarctic Peninsula

Abstract

This doctoral thesis investigates the physical and ecological dynamics of the Bransfield Strait (BS), a complex marine system located between the Bellingshausen and Weddell seas. The strait is characterized by two coastal currents that transport different water masses and converge along the Peninsula Front (PF). The Bransfield Current (BC) flows northeastward along the southern slope of the South Shetland Islands (SSI), transporting stratified, less saline, and warmer Transitional Zonal Water with Bellingshausen influence (TBW). In contrast, the Antarctic Coastal Current (CC) flows southwestward along the northern slope of the Antarctic Peninsula (AP), transporting well-mixed, colder, and saltier Transitional Zonal Water with Weddell influence (TWW). Using a multidisciplinary approach that combines in situ observations, remotely sensed data, global ocean reanalysis products, and climatological analyses, this work explores the interplay between boundary currents, interbasin exchanges, and ecological dynamics in response to regional environmental variability [...]