Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Rapid Warming Events In A Small Coastal Upwelling Embayment, Tatjana E. Ellis

Physics

Temperature variability in the nearshore coastal ocean influences various biological processes and can drive changes in biodiversity and habitat range. Despite recent progress, there are still significant gaps in the understanding of drivers of temperature variability in upwelling bays, particularly at higher frequencies. In this study, we analyzed a decade of nearshore temperature measurements both inside and outside a small coastal embayment located in central California [San Luis Obispo (SLO) bay], as well as temperature data from satellites, to characterize rapid warming events. We found that rapid warming events, defined using rates of temperature change across different thresholds, occurred more …