Mesoscale Dynamics in the Canary Islands Area as Observed Through Complementary Remote Sensing Techniques

Abstract

The combined use of data collected by multi-spectral radiometers, operating in the visible and infrared spectrum, and altimeter radars, operating in the microwave spectrum, allowed the detailed assessment of oceanic mesoscale dynamics in the Canary Islands area. Island-induced eddies are recurrent oceanographic structures of the region and contribute, together with other features originating from the African near-coastal zone, like upwelling filaments, to the variability of the physical and biological field of the Canarian Archipelago. The analysis of satellite-measured parameters with complementary specificities-namely brightness temperature and sea surface temperature, chlorophyll-a, as well as sea level anomaly-provided a description of the mesoscale variability around the Islands, covering in detail an entire seasonal cycle in the period 1998-1999. An overview is given of the spatial and temporal characteristics of all mesoscale features observed in the satellite imagery, including their origin, evolution and interaction with each other and their environmental surroundings.