Exploring ENSO Driven Extreme Sea Levels and Potential Impacts in the Guayas Delta-Gulf of Guayaquil, Ecuador

Abstract:

The largest interannual sea level variability and extremes occur in the Pacific in response to the El Niño− Southern Oscillation (ENSO) climate fluctuation. Climate models suggest an intensification of these year-to-year sea level fluctuations due to the projected increase in frequency and magnitude of extreme El Niño and La Niña events with greenhouse warming during the twenty-first century. How ENSO driven extreme sea levels manifest across river deltas, where human population and wetland ecosystems are particularly exposed to coastal hazards, yet remains unknown. Using long-term tide records, we report on extreme sea levels during historical El Niño events across the Guayas delta− Gulf of Guayaquil (Ecuador), the largest estuarine system on the Pacific coast of South America, in a region where El Niño effects are maximal. We observed a landward amplification of sea level anomalies across the delta …

Año de publicación:

2020

Keywords:

Fuente:

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