JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH, VOL. 113, C10001, doi:10.

1029/2007JC004630, 2008
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Mesoscale eddies and wind variability in the northern Gulf

of California
Jorge Lopez-Calderon,1 Antonio Martinez,1 Adriana Gonzalez-Silvera,1
Eduardo Santamaria-del-Angel,1 and Roberto Millan-Nuñez1
Received 8 November 2007; revised 6 June 2008; accepted 18 July 2008; published 4 October 2008.

[1] Surface mesoscale structures and wind variability in the northern Gulf of California
(NGC) were analyzed using data from SeaWiFS (1 km) and QuikSCAT (1 day). The
months of February and March were selected as representative of winter and the months of
August and September were selected as representative of summer. Chlorophyll-a
(Chla) and wind time series were constructed using 16 points to analyze temporal
variability and wind magnitude-Chla temporal and spatial linear correlation. Wind
components along and across the NGC were found to play an equally significant role
regarding wind variability, contrary to what is currently recognized. Wind magnitude
tended to be stronger in winter and had less wind direction variability than in summer. A
bimodal wind pattern was registered for each season, each wind direction explaining
less than 30% of total variability. The zone with minimum variability in wind direction
and maximum variability in wind magnitude was located northwest of the NGC, the same
area where wind magnitude-Chla correlation was significant (p < 0.05). Winter and
summer surface circulation patterns are more complex than currently documented.
Summer is characterized by numerous plumes and eddies (especially anticyclonic), some
traveling from coast to coast, enhancing the exchange of suspended material. Winter
varied greatly interannualy, also showing many plumes and eddies (especially cyclonic),
but was very heterogeneous, opposite to summer. Significant summer correlation was
mostly positive, whereas in winter the significant correlation was equally positive and
negative, maybe as a consequence of higher nutrient availability during this season.
Citation: Lopez-Calderon, J., A. Martinez, A. Gonzalez-Silvera, E. Santamaria-del-Angel, and R. Millan-Nuñez (2008), Mesoscale
eddies and wind variability in the northern Gulf of California, J. Geophys. Res., 113, C10001, doi:10.1029/2007JC004630.

1. Introduction Dangon et al., 1991]. The monsoonal character of the wind

has been used in numerical models to explain a seasonally
[2] The Gulf of California is characterized by very high
reversible surface circulation, cyclonic in summer and
primary production rates [Alvarez-Borrego and Lara-Lara,
anticyclonic in winter [Beier, 1997; Beier and Ripa, 1999;
1991] which sustain important fisheries (shrimp, small
Marinone, 2003]. At the northern Gulf, a reversing eddy has
pelagic fish and squid) and great biodiversity, which unfor-
been observed from hydrographic data, drifters and current
tunately includes several endangered endemic species (e.g.,
meters [Lavin et al., 1997; Palacios-Hernandez et al.,
Vaquita and Totoaba). A net annual mean surface heat flux
2002].
enters the Gulf [Castro et al., 1994; Beron-Vera and Ripa,
[4] It has been reported that this monsoonal wind produ-
2000]. This heat flux has been used to explain the general
ces a seasonally reversible upwelling system with moderate
circulation in the whole Gulf: a surface nutrient-poor warm
upwelling along the west coast of the Gulf of California
outflow and a subsurface nutrient-rich cold inflow [Bray,
during summer and intense upwelling along the east coast
1988; Martinez, 2002].
during winter [Lavin and Marinone, 2003]. However, an
[3] Most of the current knowledge about the oceanic and
intense summer upwelling has been observed using daily
atmospheric circulation of the Gulf of California focuses on
ocean color images along the east coast of the Gulf, together
its annual variability. It has been assumed that the lower
with the presence of both cyclonic and anticyclonic eddies
atmosphere along it has a spatially homogeneous wind field
in the southern Gulf [Pegau et al., 2002], which cannot be
with only northwestward winds blowing during summer
explained with the spatially homogenous annual-reversing
and southeastward winds blowing during winter [Badan-
wind.
[5] One of the limitations of this homogeneous wind
1
Facultad de Ciencias Marinas, Universidad Autónoma de Baja
description is that it is based on data from meteorological
California, Ensenada, Mexico. stations located along the coast or on islands [Merrifield and
Winant, 1989] which do not represent true conditions of the
Copyright 2008 by the American Geophysical Union. atmosphere over the ocean. On the other hand, the ocean
0148-0227/08/2007JC004630$09.00

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C10001 LOPEZ-CALDERON ET AL.: EDDIES AT NORTHERN GULF OF CALIFORNIA
circulation description is based on measurements performed
over short periods and on numerical models focused on the
annual scale with idealized forcing [Beier, 1997]. Moreover,
annual-scale analysis of the Gulf overlooks smaller processes
which can provide valuable information to explain the high
productivity that characterizes the Gulf of California. At
present there are few observations and numerical models
that focus on mesoscale circulation variability [Merrifield
and Winant, 1989; Lavin et al., 1997; Martinez, 2002].
[6] Chlorophyll-a satellite images (Chla) are an important
tool in the study of mesoscale processes given their spatial
(up to 1 km) and temporal (up to 1 day) resolution. It has
been shown that ocean color images provide information
about important aspects of the ocean surface, for exam-
ple, circulation velocities [Svejkovsky, 1988; Garcia and
Robinson, 1989], oceanic fronts [Santamaria-del-Angel et
al., 2002] and other mesoscale structures [Pegau et al.,
2002; Doney et al., 2003; Gonzalez-Silvera et al., 2006].
Furthermore, Chla images are more reliable than sea surface
temperature (SST) images considering that intense solar
heating in the Gulf of California can rapidly eliminate
surface temperature gradients [Paden et al., 1991; Pegau
et al., 2002]. The satellite estimation of Chla concentration
relies on knowing how phytoplankton affect the sea-surface
reflectance measured by the sensor [Gordon and Morel,
1983]. Moreover, they have been mainly developed for clear
water situations (e.g., open ocean), where phytoplankton is
assumed to dominate changes in the reflectance signal
(Case 1). It is recognized that these algorithms may not work
properly for coastal areas [Sathyendranath, 2000], where
other optically active components present in the seawater
(sediment, detritus and/or chromophoric-dissolved-organic-
matter or CDOM) may dominate changes in the reflectance
signal (Case 2).
[7] The northern Gulf of California is a shallow sea with
large tidal ranges near the Colorado River Delta [Argote et
al., 1995], thus, a lot of sediment suspended in the water
column is to be expected, particularly near the coast. If
ocean color images are used to analyze productivity rates, or
other biological aspect, the results should be taken cautiously
and preferably be compared against in situ measurements.
However, the main purpose of this work is to use Chla as a
tracer for surface circulation of the whole northern Gulf of
California and we are assuming that there is covariation
between Chla, CDOM and sediment.
[8] In this work we analyze some mesoscale features in
the northern Gulf of California by means of smaller spatial
(1 km) and temporal (1 day) scales, which have not been
used before for this area. We use images of Chla from
SeaWiFS and wind data from QuikSCAT to analyze (1) the
formation of mesoscale structures in the northern Gulf of
California, (2) spatial and temporal variability of Chla and
wind, and (3) association between these variables.
2. Method
2.1. Wind Data
[9] A combination of data from QuikSCAT and an
atmospheric circulation model (NCEP) were used (http://
dss.ucar.edu/datasets/ds744.4) which provide high temporal
resolution of 6 h and spatial resolution of 0.5° [Milliff et al.,
1999]. Temporal coverage of wind speed was the same as
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that for Chla data described below, except in 1998 and 1999
because QuikSCAT began operations in July 1999. Wind
data are available for all of the Gulf of California, but only
16 wind vectors corresponded to the northern Gulf of
California (NGC) area (Figure 1). Wind components were
rotated 36° clockwise in order to simplify result interpreta-
tion, so we will hereafter refer to wind components u0
(across the Gulf) and v0 (along the Gulf).
2.2. Chla Images
[10] We used 1455 daily SeaWiFS-LAC (local area cov-
erage) images with a spatial resolution of 1 km for the
period 1998 – 2003 and for the months February – March and
August – September as representative of the winter and
summer scenarios in the NGC. Selection of these months
was based on previous analyses of weekly Chla and SST
imagery (4-km spatial resolution) of every month for the
same 6-year period. These images confirmed the dominance
of two opposite scenarios: a cold season with high Chla and
a warm season with low Chla. Pigment concentration (mg
m3) was calculated using the OC4-v4 algorithm [O’Reilly
et al., 2000].
[11] With the daily imagery we constructed a set of time
series for a total of 16 positions (Figure 1) that coincide in
space and time with the satellite-derived winds described
above. To obtain a more representative value for each
position a sampling area of 12  12 km was delimited
(Figure 1) and the 25th percentile of each area was consid-
ered as the Chla concentration for each position. To analyze
surface circulation variability, a total of 398 images were
chosen from the original set, namely those with the greatest
spatial coverage (i.e., least cloud cover). In winter, the cloud
cover along the NGC was larger. In average, 37 ‘‘cloud-
free’’ images were available each summer and 29 cloud-free
images each winter. Chla cloud-free images were evenly
distributed from one year to another.
[12] Mesoscale structures (eddies and plumes) were mea-
TM
sured using WIM software. Length or diameter of major
structures were quantified on single images. Sequential
images were used to determine the number of days a
structure remained visible (i.e., lifespan); for each structure,
traceable features were identified in order to follow them
and estimate the translation and swirl velocities. Differences
in Chla concentration inside and outside of an eddy (cyclo-
nic versus anticyclonic, winter versus summer) were tested
using nonparametrical statistics (Mann-Whitney U test).
3. Results and Discussion
3.1. Wind Variability
[13] Our main purpose was to compare the traditional
annual-scale scenario of wind variability with satellite-
derived mesoscale winds. Analysis was carried out in three
steps: averaged time series, histograms and principal axes.
Following oceanographic convention, winds are reported
using the direction toward which they blow.
[14] Averaged wind time series of the component across
(u0) and along the northern Gulf of California (v0) showed
that both are in the same order of magnitude (Figure 2),
although speeds across the northern Gulf of California
(NGC) tended to be lower than those along it during both
seasons. The across-Gulf wind blows persistently from the
C10001 LOPEZ-CALDERON ET AL.: EDDIES AT NORTHERN GULF OF CALIFORNIA C10001

Figure 1. Northern Gulf of California bathymetry (m) and location of the 16 stations. Black squares
indicate the 12  12 km sampling areas used for chlorophyll-a time series extraction. Letters indicate
geographical landmarks: a, Angel de La Guarda Island; b, Wagner Basin; c, Delfin Basin; d, Tiburon
Basin.

Baja Peninsula toward the mainland (Figure 2a, gray thick
solid line), however, frequent direction shifts occurred
during winter and summer (Figure 2a, black thin dashed
line). The along-Gulf wind component showed more de-
fined directions in summer (NW) and in winter (SE)
(Figure 2b, gray thick solid line). However, significant
direction inversions also occurred every year, except for
the winter of 2002 when winds were mostly SE (Figure 2b,
black thin dashed line). The traditional spatially homoge-
neous wind scenario states that variability of the across-Gulf
component (u0) can be neglected, thus, wind direction along
the NGC is only to the SE in winter and to the NW in
summer [Badan-Dangon et al., 1991; Marinone et al.,
2004]. This scenario overlooks a significant portion of the
wind’s variability as reported here and elsewhere [Jiménez
et al., 2005]. It is clear from both time series that the across-
Gulf wind is weaker than the along-Gulf wind but signif-
icant for wind variability. Also, Figure 2 shows that there
are constant and important shifts in the wind speed of both
components. By visual analysis (counting the number of
times the series passed through zero and the amount of time
the series remained positive or negative between passes) we
determined that, in winter, the along-Gulf component shifts
between positive (NW) and negative (SE) values with an
average periodicity of 4 days. For the across-Gulf compo-
nent (in both seasons) and the along-Gulf component (in
summer), shifts showed higher variability (2-day period).
Although mesoscale variability seems to be of major im-
portance in the NGC, there are few current works focused
on this [Merrifield and Winant, 1989; Lavin et al., 1997;
Martinez, 2002].
[15] Analysis of wind histograms showed important sea-
sonal differences in wind direction and dominant wind
speeds. Wind direction had a bimodal structure for each
season, with prevailing south winds (S) in winter and north
winds (N) in summer (Figures 3a and 3b). The dominance
of this bimodal wind was greater in summer when winds to
the S– SE – E and to the NE – N– NW were equally frequent
(42% and 54% of the time, respectively, Figure 3b). In
winter, wind direction dominance leaned to the S– SE –E
directions (68% versus 23% of the time, Figure 3a). It
should be noticed that for both winter and summer no single
direction accounted for more than 30% of total variability. If
we only consider the relative contribution of NW and SE
directions, which are currently considered as the major
wind directions for the NGC [Badan-Dangon et al., 1991;
Marinone et al., 2004], the result is that the contribution of
NW winds is low (<10%) during winter and summer and

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Figure 2. Spatial average of the 16 stations for the wind component (a) across and (b) along the Gulf of
California (u0 and v0) for winter (February – March) and summer (August – September). The black thin
dashed line is the unfiltered series with data every 6 h, and the gray thick solid line is the filtered series
with a 10-day running mean, applied separately to each season.

that SE winds are not the most frequent in winter (25%) nor
in summer (15%; Figures 3a and 3b).
[16] The across-Gulf component (u0) is weaker during
summer than during winter (Figures 3c and 3d). However,
in both seasons wind speeds were mostly positive (NE) as
well as the most frequent wind speed (2.0 m s1 in
summer and 0.8 m s1 in winter). During winter, the
along-Gulf wind component (v0) had a similar structure
(Figure 3e), but with higher speeds and predominantly
negative values (SE). The most frequent velocity was
2.9 m s1 (31%). In summer, component v0 (Figure 3f)
differed from the rest, wind speeds were mainly positive but
the most frequent speed was negative (1.8 m s1). A
possible reason for the different summer behavior in the
along-Gulf component is the presence of ‘‘Gulf surges.’’
These are near-surface air masses associated with a rapid
increase in N – NW winds followed by a drop in air
temperature and an abrupt dew point increase, occurring
from July to September [Stensrud et al., 1997].
[17] A remarkable fact of this last histogram (Figure 3f) is
its similarity with the one reported by Bordoni et al. [2004,
Figure 4]. They used QuikSCAT data for the whole Gulf of
California from June to September (1999 – 2003). They
obtained a histogram for the along-Gulf component analo-
gous to the one presented herein (Figure 3f). The most
frequent speed is also similar (SE, 1.5 m s1), with most
of the wind speeds clustered at positive values (NW). They
explained the positive wind speeds as Gulf surges or
‘‘pulses of northwardly winds that are channeled into the
Gulf of California and propagate over its length.’’
[18] Principal axes analysis showed spatial and seasonal
differences (Figures 4a and 4b). In both summer and winter,
the across-Gulf wind component is significant, this fact
contrast with other works where the across-Gulf component
is neglected [Beier, 1997; Palacios-Hernandez et al., 2002].
Major wind axes were more aligned with the Gulf in
summer than in winter, station 4 was the exception with a
pattern of variability different from the rest (Figures 4a and
4b). Wind direction (and speed) seems to be more coherent
(and variable) in winter than in summer (Figures 4a –4d).
Most wind variability in winter is located in the center of the
NGC (Figure 4c); in summer wind variability increases
from south to north (Figure 4d). The importance of the
spatial heterogeneity of the wind field along the Gulf has
been recently acknowledged [Jiménez et al., 2005], and
noticeable differences have been found in magnitude and

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Figure 3. (a and b) Spatial average of the 16 stations for wind direction and wind components (c and d)
across (u0) and (e and f) along (v0) the Gulf of California for winter and summer months (1999– 2003).
Numbers above each column are the corresponding percentages.

direction for the surface circulation forced by idealized
winds and observed winds (QuikSCAT) [Jiménez et al.,
2005].
[19] Eastern (E) winds were the second and third most
important in summer and winter, respectively (Figures 3a
and 3b). Thus, there is an important fraction of wind
blowing from the Baja California Peninsula. This is of great
importance because it is currently considered that the NGC
is isolated from the influence of the Pacific Ocean by a
mountainous ridge with heights over 700 –1000 m [Bray,
1988; Badan-Dangon et al., 1991]. In the Peninsula’s
orography there are two gaps with heights lower than
700 m (Figure 6b) that could contribute to the E winds
observed in the QuikSCAT data. In our data there were three
episodes of strong E– NE winds (>72 km h1) centered at
station 4 that extended 50 km northward and offshore
reaching stations 3 and 8. This strong wind coming from
the Peninsula is locally known as ‘‘Weste.’’
[20] The presently described wind scenario cannot ex-
plain recent observations [Pegau et al., 2002] in which
intense summer upwelling occurs along the eastern coast in
the southern Gulf of California. It is necessary to consider

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Figure 4. Principal axes for the 16 stations in the NGC for available (a) winters and (b) summers. Axes
are referred to geographical north. Spatial distribution of wind variance (root mean square) for available
(c) winters and (d) summers. Dashed lines encircle stations with maximum linear correlation between
chlorophyll-a concentration and wind magnitude.

the significance of the across-Gulf component as well as the
contribution of winds that do not blow toward NW
(Figure 3b) in order to explain the reported Chla patterns.
3.2. Summer Mesoscale Structures
[21] The most conspicuous mesoscale features of summer
are shown in Figures 5a –5e, for both August and September,
because these months were considered as representative of
the warm season after a 12-month analysis of weekly
images. Chlorophyll-a images showed two spatial regimes
(1) a coastal regime, with high Chla values near the shore
mainly in the Colorado River Delta, Bahia Adair and Bahia
San Jorge (Figures 5a – 5e) and (2) a central (oceanic)
regime, with low Chla values, especially over Delfin Basin.
[22] On 11 September 1999, a recurrent feature not
previously recorded in the NGC occurred. An anticyclonic
eddy originated in the Sonora coast (south of Bahia San
Jorge) that migrated westward toward Puertecitos
(Figure 5c), at an average speed of 9.18 km d1, a swirl
velocity of 16.49 km d1 and a diameter of 64 km. This
eddy had a lifespan of 11 days, and a Chla concentration
slightly larger than its surroundings. To the best of our
knowledge, there is no report of anticyclonic eddies occur-
ring during summer in the NGC. Moreover, anticyclonic

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Figure 5. Surface chlorophyll-a images for (a –e) summer and (f – i) winter. The 40, 100, and 250-m
isobaths are indicated on each image. Note that different color scales were used for summer and winter. A
is the anticyclonic eddy, and C is the cyclonic eddy.

eddies like the one mentioned above occurred on four of the
six analyzed summers (1999 and 2001–2003). Consequently,
the migration of mesoscale eddies (cyclonic and anticy-
clonic) must be of significant importance for the transport
of organic (plankton) and inorganic (nutrients) material in
the NGC [Toner et al., 2003].
[23] The Chla pattern observed on 19 August 2001
(Figure 5d) matched with what is currently accepted as
the invariable summer circulation in the NGC, which is
based on annual analyses of in situ measurements [Lavin et
al., 1997; Palacios-Hernandez et al., 2002] and numerical
modeling [Beier, 1997; Marinone, 2003], i.e., a single
basin-wide cyclonic eddy centered nearby Delfin Basin
occurring without major changes during most of the sum-
mer. However, our observations show a much more com-
plex mesoscale surface circulation. There were occasions
when the Chla pattern consisted of two basin-wide eddies
(Figure 5a). Both eddies had a lifespan of four days and
diameters of 110 km and 98 km, respectively. The northern
eddy was anticyclonic and the southern eddy was cyclonic.
Similar pairs of counter-rotating eddies were also observed
(for shorter periods of time) in the summers of 2002 and
2003. Twenty days later (Figure 5b) the spatial pattern
changed significantly, counter-rotating eddies disappeared
and a cyclonic eddy with high Chla was developed. This
eddy had a diameter of 94 km and was formed in front of
Puertecitos; it migrated at an average speed of 12.35 km d1
from Baja California to Sonora during 10 days. As far as we
know, there are no reports of cyclonic eddies that migrate
during summer from Baja California to Sonora. Migration
of eddies from Sonora to Baja California (Figure 5c) was
frequently observed during the 5 years analyzed; in contrast,
for the same period only one eddy was observed migrating
from Baja California to Sonora (Figure 5b).
[24] Although a predominantly surface cyclonic circula-
tion is well defined during summer, there is significant
variability associated with Chla patterns. There are episodes
in which the widespread low Chla (characteristic of deep

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Table 1. Number of Plumes, Anticyclonic, and Cyclonic Eddies
Observed in the NGC During Winter (February – March) and
Summer (August – September)
Eddiesa
Year Season A C Plumes
1998 – 2003 Winter 3 18 20
1998 – 2003 Summer 24 13 24
Total 27 31 44
a
Rotation sign of eddies is A for anticyclonic and C for cyclonic.
areas) is limited to small patches, with medium to high Chla
spread throughout the NGC (Figures 5b and 5e). The
relationship between the sense of rotation of an eddy and
its Chla concentration is not straightforward. We can com-
pare the cyclonic eddies observed in 1998 (Figure 5b), 2001
(Figure 5d) and 2002 (Figure 5e). The first eddy showed
high Chla, the second low Chla, and the third medium Chla.
Anticyclonic eddies also showed high, medium (Figure 5e)
and low (Figures 5a and 5c) Chla values. Thus, as expected,
Chla concentration inside an eddy does not depend on its
rotation sign. Instead it is strongly influenced by the
characteristics (Chla concentration) of the water mass where
it was formed. In fact, in the southern Gulf of California
[Pegau et al., 2002] summer anticyclonic eddies have high
Chla while cyclonic eddies have low Chla. The former are
formed with water adjacent to the Sonora coast (rich in
Chla) and the latter with water adjacent to the Baja
California coast (poor in Chla).
[25] Anticyclonic and cyclonic eddies showed Chla values
significantly (p < 0.05) different from their surroundings,
except anticyclonic eddies in winter (Table 3). Thirty-nine
eddies (67%) had higher Chla than their surroundings,
whereas for 16 eddies (28%) Chla concentration was signif-
icantly lower inside eddies. Cyclonic eddies were less fre-
quent in summer (Table 1), had larger diameters (Table 2) and
a larger lifespan (Table 2) than anticyclonic eddies. At
present, the formation mechanism of these mesoscale eddies
remains to be explained. However, they could be a conse-
quence of interactions between surface winds and coastal-
trapped waves with the local bathymetry and the coastline
[Merrifield and Winant, 1989; Merrifield, 1992; Pegau et al.,
2002; Martinez and Allen, 2004a, 2004b]. Traveling speed
estimates for eddies using ocean color images (21.46 km
d1) are in the same order of magnitude as those
obtained by in situ measurements (30.24 km d 1)
[Palacios-Hernandez et al., 2002]. This result encourages
the use of ocean color images to complement some aspects
of the surface circulation in the Gulf of California.
Table 2. Minimum – Maximum Values for the Mesoscale Structures Observed in the NGC During Winter and Summer 1998 – 2003
Anticyclonic Eddies
Parameter Winter Summer
Diameter/Length (km) 24 – 85 18 – 110
Lifespan (days) 2 – 55 1 – 11
Translation (km d1) 3–8 4 – 14
Swirl velocity (km d1) 6 – 19 15 – 17
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3.3. Winter Mesoscale Structures
[26] Compared to summer, winter images (February and
March) show a much more complicated pattern, and a less
defined spatial regime. The absence of a clear basin-wide
Total pattern is evident. Many eddies and plumes occurred but
41
they were typically short-lived and appeared randomly
61 throughout the NGC. Images for the year 2000 (Figures 5h
102 and 5i) reflect the complex pattern that prevailed in five of
the 6 years analyzed. The high Chla water mass was more
extended and covered most of the basin, while areas with
low Chla diminished (Figures 5h and 5i). Images for the
year 1999 (Figures 5f and 5g) account for the only year in
which long-term (>55 days) basin-wide circulation oc-
curred. Fifteen of the eighteen cyclonic eddies observed in
the winter images were rich in Chla. Conversely, only three
anticyclonic eddies were observed: one rich in Chla, another
with no significant difference between inside and outside
Chla, and the last one poor in Chla during February
(Figure 5f) and rich in Chla during March (Figure 5g).
[27] One of the most representative images of winter is
that of 1 February 2000 (Figure 5h) in which there was no
basin-wide structure dominating the NGC. High Chla val-
ues were located as patches north and south of the NGC; in
the central part the most common features were meanders
with medium and low Chla. A month later (Figure 5i), a
cyclonic eddy was observed along Delfin Basin with a
diameter of 46 km and a lifespan of 1 week. Another three
brief cyclonic and anticyclonic eddies occurred in this area:
two in 1998 (3-day long anticyclonic eddy followed by a
1-week long cyclonic eddy) and one in 2003 (2-week long
anticyclonic eddy).
[28] Few works report cyclonic structures during winter.
Martinez [2002] used a numerical model forced by satellite-
derived wind stress and obtained a winter cyclonic mean
circulation for the NGC. Palacios-Hernandez et al. [2006],
using hydrographic data, report a cyclonic circulation from
December 1994 through March 1995 generated by the
reduction of local stratification. The traditional winter
scenario states that an anticyclonic eddy continually covers
most of the NGC in winter [Beier, 1997; Lavin et al., 1997;
Palacios-Hernandez et al., 2002; Marinone, 2003], with the
same swirl velocity as in summer (30.24 km d1) and
encircled by the 100 m isobath [Palacios-Hernandez et
al., 2002]. An eddy with such characteristics was only
observed in 1999 (Figures 5f and 5g). In the winter of
1999 the anticyclonic eddy lasted 55 days with an 85 km
diameter. It was located over Delfin Basin and had low Chla
(Figure 5f); however, during March the Chla concentration
inside the eddy was high (Figure 5g).
[29] Spatial distribution of winter and summer eddies
(Figure 6a) did not show spatial preferences for any season.
Cyclonic Eddies Plumes
Winter Summer Winter Summer
7 – 62 17 – 133 34 – 156 27 – 127
1–8 1 – 59 1 – 20 1–8
1–5 1 – 14
6 – 23 7 – 32
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Figure 6. (a) Position of origin or first detection of the 58 eddies observed in the chlorophyll-a images
from 1998 to 2003. Anticyclonic (squares) and cyclonic (triangles) eddies are shown for winter (black)
and summer (gray). (b) Location of the four regions identified with chlorophyll-a time series. White
arrows indicate gaps in the orography of the Baja California peninsula.

However, important differences were present between win-
ter and summer eddies. Winter eddies were smaller
(Figure 7a) and traveled at lower speeds (Table 2) than
during summer, especially cyclonic eddies. The rotation
sign of eddies showed remarkable seasonality. During
summer, anticyclonic eddies were more common than
cyclonic eddies (Figure 7b and Table 1); however, the
largest eddies in summer were cyclonic (Table 2). During
winter the opposite occurred: cyclonic eddies were more
common than anticyclonic eddies (Figure 7a and Table 1)
but the largest eddy observed was anticyclonic (Table 2).
[30] These observations are novel and do not correspond to
the traditionally accepted scenario. Through observations
[Lavin et al., 1997; Carrillo et al., 2002; Palacios-Hernandez
et al., 2002] and numerical modeling [Beier, 1997; Beier and
Ripa, 1999; Marinone, 2003] it is stated that during summer
only one cyclonic eddy covers the NGC, without the presence
of anticyclonic eddies. The opposite occurs during winter,
allegedly only one anticyclonic eddy covers the NGC, with
no presence of cyclonic eddies. The existence of this solitary
eddy is justified by the presence of an idealized seasonally
reversed wind blowing along the whole Gulf of California:
northwestward during summer and southeastward during
winter [Badan-Dangon et al., 1991; Marinone et al., 2004].
This idealized wind considers as significant the component
along the Gulf (v0) and neglects the wind component across
the Gulf (u0). As we have shown, along- and across-Gulf wind
components are in the same order of magnitude (Figures 2a
and 2b). None of the wind components show clear reversible
wind seasonality; only in the winter of 2002 did the along-
Gulf component show most speeds toward the southeast.
However, no anticyclonic eddies formed during this winter
(data not shown).
3.4. Chlorophyll-a Temporal Variability
[31] The purpose of the Chla time series analysis was to
look for major patterns within the NGC, with no interest in
small differences between stations. These small differences
could be attributed to the presence of nonbiotic substances
in the water column (CDOM and sediment). Therefore, we
defined four regions with large and consistent differences in
Chla concentration (Figure 6b).
[32] The largest region corresponded to the central and
deepest portion of the NGC (Figure 6b) with clear annual
seasonality: high Chla in winter and low Chla in summer. Its
most typical example is the time series of station 10
(Figure 8a). The second region was located along the coasts
of both Baja California and Sonora (Figure 6b), also with
clear annual seasonality but larger concentration of Chla in
both seasons compared to the region mentioned previously.
It was best represented by station 2 (Figure 8b). Evidently,
the main responsible factor for the observed differences is
the distance to the shore. In the coastal region the proximity
between surface and bottom water enhances the nutrient
enrichment of the euphotic zone and also the contribution of
CDOM and sediment.
[33] The third region was located in the upper portion of
the NGC (Figure 6b) and was characterized by the absence
of annual seasonality. Chla concentration was relatively
constant during both seasons, as shown for station 1
(Figure 8c). This region is the shallowest of the NGC;
hence, one of the most influenced by tidal mixing [Argote et

9 of 13
C10001 LOPEZ-CALDERON ET AL.: EDDIES AT NORTHERN GULF OF CALIFORNIA
Figure 7. Number and diameter of observed anticyclonic
(black) and cyclonic (gray) eddies in the NGC for winter
(February –March) and summer (August – September).
al., 1995]. This mixing is one of the features that maintain
nutrient concentration high in this zone throughout the year
[Hernandez-Ayon et al., 1993], allowing high and relatively
constant phytoplankton densities in winter and summer.
[34] Station 15 showed some similarities with stations 1
and 5; however, there were enough differences in its time
series for it to be distinguished as a separate region
(Figures 6b and 8d). In 1998 and 2003 the median of Chla
was significantly higher in summer than in winter (0.313 mg
m3, p < 0.05); this reversed seasonality was not observed
for any other station. In the remaining years (1999 –2002),
Chla differences were not significant between winter and
summer. This region is characterized by strong vertical
mixing throughout the year [Argote et al., 1995]; conse-
quently, nutrient availability is not a limiting factor for this
area, and summer and winter Chla tended to be equally high.
Lower winter Chla concentration in 1998 and 2003 could be
a consequence of light-limited growth of phytoplankton due
to CDOM and sediment suspended in the water column by
the wind or tidal mixing.
[35] Chlorophyll-a spatial variability shows that the cur-
rent upwelling scenario for the Gulf of California (high Chla
during winter along the Sonora coast and moderate Chla
10 of 13
C10001
during summer along the Baja California coast) does not
correspond to the NGC. On the contrary, the Chla signal in
the NGC responds in the same way along both coastlines,
with high Chla during winter and moderate Chla during
summer (Figure 8b). As mentioned above, propagation of
mesoscale eddies (cyclonic and anticyclonic) from one coast
to the other enhances the exchange of biotic and nonbiotic
material. These phenomena could contribute to the simul-
taneous Chla signal observed in the time series.
3.5. Wind Magnitude-Chlorophyll-a Correlation
[36] The last objective of this work was to determine if
wind magnitude increases in correlation with an increase in
Chla concentration. The chlorophyll-a time series for each
season had gaps (due to cloud cover) and they were not long
enough (51 days on average) to perform lagged correlation
analyses; instead, we used zero lag correlations (Pearson
linear correlation). It has been reported that phytoplankton
blooms and the wind pulses that originate them are not
simultaneous [Wilkerson et al., 2006]. Thus, for this analysis
we anticipated poor linear correlation between variables.
[37] Temporal correlation of the time series for the
16 available stations showed that only 17% were significant
(p < 0.05), 80% of which occurred in summer. Stations 2, 3,
6, 7, 8, 10 and 11 showed at least two significant correla-
tions (Figures 4c and 4d). For the spatial correlation
between Chla and wind magnitude we took the 16 values
of Chla and wind magnitude of one day and performed a
linear correlation between them. Then we repeated this
correlation for all available days and charted these values
as a new time series (i.e., spatial correlation time series,
Figure 9). Only 18% of this time series showed significant
correlation (p < 0.05), 70% of them occurred in summer
(similar to the temporal correlation). Spatial correlation
(j0.5j to j0.8j) was higher than temporal correlation (j0.3j
to j0.6j), partially because the number of data per correlation
in the former was considerably smaller (16 versus 51). The
low correspondence between wind magnitude and Chla
increases could be a result of the lag between wind pulses
and the phytoplankton bloom response, which in some
places is of the order of days to one week [Wilkerson et
al., 2006]. A second reason could be that Chla increases are
not a consequence of the wind but rather a result of energy
dissipation from internal waves or coastal-trapped waves
that increase vertical mixing of the water column and bring
nutrients to the euphotic layer [Merrifield and Winant, 1989;
Merrifield, 1992; Gaxiola-Castro et al., 2002; Martinez and
Allen, 2004a, 2004b].
[38] Few temporal and spatial correlations were signifi-
cant, however, a remarkable pattern was observed. Stations
with at least two significant correlations (2, 3, 6, 7, 8, 10
and 11) correspond to the zone northwest of Angel de La
Guarda Island (Figures 4c and 4d), which is where Chla and
wind magnitude are best associated. Part of this zone is also
characterized by having the minimum wind direction vari-
ability both in summer (stations 6, 2 and 10) and winter
(stations 7, 3, 6 and 2) (Figures 4a and 4b). Moreover, the
largest eddy observed in winter occurred in this zone
(Figures 5f and 5g). Contrary to wind direction variability,
the spatial distribution of wind variance (root mean square)
showed its maximum around station 7, especially in winter
C10001 LOPEZ-CALDERON ET AL.: EDDIES AT NORTHERN GULF OF CALIFORNIA C10001

Figure 8. Chlorophyll-a time series extracted from daily ocean color images for winter (February –
March) and summer (August – September). Data for stations (a) 10, (b) 2, (c) 1, and (d) 15 are shown.
Numbers by the peaks for station 2 represent concentrations off the scale.

(Figure 4c). Given that wind direction variability showed its
minimum in station 7, maximum values of wind variance
for this station should be attributed to fluctuations of wind
magnitude. In summer, wind variance increased from south
to north (Figure 4d). Station 15 had the least wind variance
in both seasons and never showed a single significant
correlation.
[39] Most correlations occurred in summer and were
positive, whereas in winter positive and negative correla-
tions were equally frequent (Figure 9). This means that, in
summer, Chla blooms were better associated with wind
pulses in the area encircled in Figures 4c and 4d, than in
winter. Low linear correlation in winter could be a conse-
quence of (1) lower stratification [Hidalgo-Gonzalez and
Alvarez-Borrego, 2001] and higher nutrient availability in

11 of 13
C10001 LOPEZ-CALDERON ET AL.: EDDIES AT NORTHERN GULF OF CALIFORNIA
Figure 9. Spatial correlation time series, each circle represents the zero lag linear correlation for 1 day
of the 16 stations of chlorophyll-a concentration and wind magnitude. Only significant correlations (p <
0.05) for winter (black) and summer (gray) are shown.
the surface layer that make the concurrence of wind pulses
and phytoplankton blooms less frequent or (2) the logarith-
mic scale of the Chla images, which is less sensitive to
small variations in high Chla concentrations; hence, small
increases in pigment concentration caused by the wind
would be missed amid the commonly high winter Chla
values.
4. Conclusions
[40] This work contributes to the knowledge on the
atmospheric and oceanographic aspects of the Northern
Gulf of California (NGC). Satellite-derived surface winds
used in this work have a much more complex spatial and
temporal variability than the simplified annual cycle and
spatially homogeneous wind used in previous studies (i.e.,
SE in winter and NW in summer) [Beier, 1997; Beier and
Ripa, 1999; Marinone et al., 2004]. Wind direction shows a
bimodal pattern, with at least two main wind directions both
in winter (N – NE and S) and summer (N and E); however,
no single wind direction explains more than 30% of the total
variability (Figures 3a and 3b). It is necessary to consider at
least four wind directions in order to account for 78% of
total variability for any season.
[41] A large number of mesoscale structures in summer
and winter (especially eddies) have not been previously
reported. These eddies travel along and across the NGC
enhancing the exchange of suspended material (plankton
and nutrients). Opposite to other oceanic regions, the
amount of Chla inside anticyclonic and cyclonic eddies
does not depend on the hydrographic structure of eddies
(Ekman pumping) but rather on the characteristics (nutrient
and Chla concentration) of the water mass where eddies
originate. Chlorophyll-a inside an eddy was significantly
different from its surroundings in 95% of the cases (Table 3).
Also, a seasonal difference is observed in the formation of
eddies: anticyclonic eddies are smaller and more frequent in
summer, while cyclonic eddies are smaller and more fre-
quent in winter. It is imperative to investigate the dynamics
of these mesoscale structures in order to improve our
understanding of biophysical coupling in the NGC.
12 of 13
C10001
[42] Sequential Chla images show that, in summer, sur-
face circulation displays a larger consistent structure (when
winds are more variable), while in winter, surface circula-
tion has great interannual variability with smaller and more
complex structures (when winds are more consistent). These
observations, especially for winter, contradict the currently
accepted scenario [Beier, 1997; Lavin et al., 1997; Palacios-
Hernandez et al., 2002; Marinone, 2003], which overlooks
the significance of mesoscale variability.
[43] Chlorophyll-a time series show that there are the
following four regions with distinct variability in the NGC:
(1) The Colorado River Delta, with constant Chla through-
out the year, (2) the Sonora and Baja California coasts, with
maximum Chla in winter and low Chla in summer, (3) the
central region of the NGC, with high Chla in winter and
minimum Chla in summer, and (4) the southeast of the
Angel de La Guarda Island, with lower Chla in winter than
in summer (p < 0.05) for two of the six years analyzed.
[44] Significant linear correlation (p < 0.05) indicates that
the northwest zone of the NGC is where wind and surface
circulation are best associated, particularly in summer. This
zone is also where wind direction variability showed its
minimum, while wind magnitude variability had its maxi-
mum. Although there was an association between Chla
concentration and wind magnitude, wind and its effects in
the NGC circulation are more complex than previously
thought and need to be further investigated.
Table 3. Number of Anticyclonic and Cyclonic Eddies Observed
With Higher or Lower Chla Concentration Than Their Surround-
ings for Each Seasona
Anticyclonic Eddies Cyclonic Eddies
Winters Summers Winters Summers
1998 – 2003 1998 – 2003 1998 – 2003 1998 – 2003
Higher 1 15* 15* 9*
Lower 2 9* 3* 4*
a
Anticyclonic eddies for the winters were statistically tested together
because of their small sample numbers. Significant differences (p < 0.05)
are indicated by *.
C10001 LOPEZ-CALDERON ET AL.: EDDIES AT NORTHERN GULF OF CALIFORNIA
[45] Acknowledgments. Authors wish to thank JPL-PO.DAAC for
providing wind data; NASA-GSFC for providing SeaWiFS images; and
Dr. L. Enriquez-Paredes for his valuable comments on an earlier version
of this manuscript. We also thank the three anonymous reviewers who
provided pertinent criticism that helped us to improve this paper. Thanks
to Isabel Pérez Montfort for English revision. J.L.C. was supported by
CONACYT grant 171076.
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A. Gonzalez-Silvera, J. Lopez-Calderon, A. Martinez, R. Millan-Nuñez,
and E. Santamaria-del-Angel, Facultad de Ciencias Marinas, Universidad
Autónoma de Baja California, AP. 453, Ensenada, BC 22860, Mexico.
(adrimexico@gmail.com)