Beier Emilio, Bernal Gladys, Ruiz-Ochoa Mauricio, Barton Eric Desmond
Centro de Investigación Científica y de Educación Superior de Ensenada-Unidad La Paz, La Paz, Baja California Sur, México.
Departamento de Geociencias y Medio Ambiente, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Medellín, Colombia.
PLoS One. 2017 Aug 4;12(8):e0182116. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0182116. eCollection 2017.
Despite the heavy regional rainfall and considerable discharge of many rivers into the Colombian Basin, there have been few detailed studies about the dilution of Caribbean Surface Water and the variability of salinity in the southwestern Caribbean. An analysis of the precipitation, evaporation and runoff in relation to the climate variability demonstrates that although the salt balance in the Colombian Basin overall is in equilibrium, the area south of 12°N is an important dilution sub-basin. In the southwest of the basin, in the region of the Panama-Colombia Gyre, Caribbean Sea Water is diluted by precipitation and runoff year round, while in the northeast, off La Guajira, its salinity increases from December to May by upwelling. At the interannual scale, continental runoff is related to El Niño Southern Oscillation, and precipitation and evaporation south of 12°N are related to the Caribbean Low Level Jet. During El Niño years the maximum salinification occurs in the dry season (December-February) while in La Niña years the maximum dilution (or freshening), reaching La Guajira Coastal Zone, occurs in the wet season (September-November).
尽管该地区降雨量大，且许多河流大量注入哥伦比亚盆地，但关于加勒比地表水的稀释以及加勒比西南部盐度变化的详细研究却很少。对降水、蒸发和径流与气候变率之间关系的分析表明，尽管哥伦比亚盆地的盐平衡总体处于平衡状态，但北纬12度以南地区是一个重要的稀释子流域。在盆地西南部，巴拿马 - 哥伦比亚环流区域，加勒比海水全年都受到降水和径流的稀释，而在东北部的瓜希拉半岛附近，其盐度从12月到5月因上升流而增加。在年际尺度上，大陆径流与厄尔尼诺 - 南方涛动有关，北纬12度以南地区的降水和蒸发与加勒比低空急流有关。在厄尔尼诺年，最大盐化发生在旱季（12月至2月），而在拉尼娜年，最大稀释（或变淡）现象会延伸至瓜希拉海岸带，发生在雨季（9月至11月）。
