Modelling Particle Fluxes in the Coastal Upwelling Zone off North-West Africa

Gokay Karakas
Alfred-Wegener-Institute for Polar and Marine Research, Germany

The NW African coast is one of the major high productivity regions of the world ocean with a complex flow dynamics, which is associated with filaments at various scales. The importance of filaments stems from the fact that they serve as a means of cross-shore transport of materials. Consequently they influence the particle fluxes in the deep ocean, which is of significant scientific interest as to the carbon budget. We investigate the seasonal variability of filaments and associated particle fluxes in the region by employing ROMS and study the effects of various forcing fields on the transport and deposition patterns.