Spatio-temporal variability of coastal currents along the Yucatan Peninsula using Self‐Organising Maps

Abstract

The characterisation of oceanic and coastal variability around the Yucatan Peninsula is important for understanding the physical processes involved, which have an environmental, social and economic impacts at a both local and regional scales. In particular, understanding the coastal dynamics in the region facilitates the conservation of ecosystemic services, the identification and prevention of vulnerable situations, the identification of risks and management practices, as well as the evaluation of the effects of environmental and anthropogenic changes. In the present study, oceanic and atmospheric numerical models are used, with a high spatial and temporal resolution. These models have been validated with in situ data and simulations range from the continental platform (regional) to the coastal zone (local). The forcings involved under different climatic events (e.g. average conditions, storms and northerlies) and their influence on coastal dynamics at different spatial and temporal scales are studied. The model performed particularly well when comparing wave heights, wave period and wave direction with field data for the different events. In terms of current variability, the trends identified in the results are supported by previous findings of specific field case studies. Spatial and temporal patterns of the currents' velocities identified through Self-Organising Maps, with time dependence given by their best matching units, can reproduce the characteristic patterns of surface current variability. The results of the present study show that the northern coast of the Yucatan Peninsula can be divided into three main regions: 1) the east, mostly controlled by the Yucatan Current; 2) the central region, which is more of a transition zone; and 3) the west, off the coast of Campeche, influenced primarily by atmospheric processes (e.g. sea-land breezes and northerlies). The main surface currents along the northern Yucatan Peninsula Coast are generally to the west but show effects of sea-land breezes and northerlies.