Barrier Layer Control of Entrainment and Upwelling in the Bohol Sea, Philippines

Abstract

abStr act. The Bohol Sea is a relatively unstudied marginal sea located in the southern part of the Philippines. Hydrographic data from the Philippine Straits Dynamics Experiment (PhilEx) cruises reveal a complex three-dimensional circulation composed of two overturning cells that may be referred to as "doubleestuarine type. " This type of overturning circulation promotes upwelling of cold, nutrient-rich waters within the Bohol Sea associated with entrainment and eddy processes that promote phytoplankton blooms. Evidence from ocean color imagery supports entrainment in the eastern basin and eddy formation in the southwestern basin. However, PhilEx researchers found that the cyclonic Iligan Bay Eddy in the southwestern basin did not conform to the paradigm of cyclonic eddy upwelling.