The seasonal cycles contribute most to the total variance of oceanic and atmospheric variables and is one of the keys of the global climate system. Yet little attention has been paid to the response of these variables in the eastern Pacific Ocean and particularly south eastern Pacific Ocean to anthropogenic climate change. We wish in the following to complete this need by investigating the changes in the heat balance of the oceanic surface layer (air-sea processes and advective terms), at seasonal time scales which may be influenced by the forcing of greenhouse gases at secular time scales in the eastern Pacific with particular emphasis on two areas, Humboldt Current and Panama Bight systems. The Panama Bight region is located north of the equator (9N-1S, 100W- coastal South America) and the Humboldt Current between 2S-40S, 90W and the coast of South America. In order to performe this research theme, we used monthly mean heat fluxes of all heat flux terms generated by various coupled general circulation models of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project. This will allow to gain an improved understanding of the sea surface temperature and the characteristics of the surface heat balance of the Humboldt Current and Panama Bight Systems, their spatial patterns, their seasonal structure, and how they evolve forced by greenhouse gases and other forcing under different scenarios.

Last Updated: 2007-07-26