Sovremennye problemy distantsionnogo zondirovaniya Zemli iz kosmosa, 2026, V. 23, No. 2, pp. 320-330
Canary Islands upwelling variability trends based on reanalysis data
1 Institute of Natural and Technical Systems, Sevastopol, Russia
Accepted: 16.02.2026
DOI: 10.21046/2070-7401-2026-23-2-320-330
The paper presents a comparative analysis of thermal upwelling index (TUI) and vertical upwelling velocity of water for different latitudes of the Canary Islands upwelling (CU) over two time periods: 1993–2008 and 2009–2024. It is shown that average TUI for the two 16-year periods for the southern (13–21° N) and northern (21–34° N) parts of CU remained virtually unchanged. In the northern part of CU, an increase in the upwelling velocity was recorded for all months in the second study period (2009–2024) compared to the first (1993–2008). Also, vertical upwelling velocity of water for the northern part of CU in the winter-spring season is determined to a greater extent by the thickness of the upper mixed layer than by the divergence of horizontal velocities. For the southern part of CU, an increase in vertical upwelling velocity was observed during the winter-spring season and a decrease in the summer-fall season during the second study period. It was shown that TUI in the southern part of CU does not reflect the actual intensity of upwelling, but rather indicates the combined water temperature of advection and upwelling origins. The study methodology was based on satellite data on sea surface temperature (to calculate TUI) and reanalysis data on major ocean currents (to estimate vertical upwelling velocities).
Keywords: upwelling, sea surface temperature, upwelling thermal index, northeast trade winds, vertical upwelling velocity
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