Evolution of the 2014–2015 sea surface temperature warming in the central west coast of Baja California, Mexico, recorded by remote sensing

Abstract

Abstract Extraordinarily warm sea surface temperatures were present in the California Current System during 2014–2015. In several locations surface waters temperature registered new record high in the recent time series. This study focuses in the evolution of the warming in the southern part of the California Current System (CCS), off the west coast of Baja California, Mexico. Analysis of monthly sea surface temperature (SST), sea level pressure, and wind speed as measured by satellite from January 1988 to December 2015 show that recent warming occurred during two distinct periods. From May 2014 to April 2015, SST warming was related to weak coastal winds not associated to El Niño. During this period occurred the longest sustained record of 15 months of negative wind anomalies in the series. A reduction of wind stress suggests a weakened coastal upwelling, and consequently, cold water not transported into the surface. The second process of warming occurred from September to December 2015, during a strong El Niño condition.