Seasonal Variability of the Buoyancy Flux along the Northern Coast of the Gulf of Guinea

The buoyancy flux Bo at the air/sea interface is very useful to understand the variability of the stratification of the mixed layer, the oceanic mixing, the phytoplankton dynamics and then the coastal upwelling. The atmospheric reanalysis ERA5 and the oceanic reanalysis ORAP5 data have been used in this study to describe the sea surface Bo and, its influence on the variability of the mixing in the mixed layer and consequently on the coastal upwelling along the northern coast of the Gulf of Guinea. The Bo is negative along the coast and, is characterized by a seasonal variability dominated by the thermal buoyancy flux. This study has also shown that the mixing layer is very shallow along the coast and deeper offshore. The negative value of the Bo increases the stratification of the mixed layer and reduces the mixing. This could explain why the mixed layer is shallow in this region. This work suggests that an increasing trend of the global warming could have dramatic impact in this area by increasing the stratification in the mixed layer and would contribute to reducing the coastal upwelling intensity.