Accepted Manuscript

Freshwater structure and its seasonal variability off western Patagonia

Gonzalo S. Saldías, Marcus Sobarzo, Renato Quiñones

PII: S0079-6611(18)30102-2
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pocean.2018.10.014
Reference: PROOCE 2029

To appear in: Progress in Oceanography

Accepted Date: 15 October 2018

Please cite this article as: Saldías, G.S., Sobarzo, M., Quiñones, R., Freshwater structure and its seasonal variability
off western Patagonia, Progress in Oceanography (2018), doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pocean.2018.10.014

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 Freshwater structure and its seasonal variability off
western Patagonia
Gonzalo S. Saldı́asa,b,∗, Marcus Sobarzod,e , Renato Quiñonesd,e
a
Departamento de Fı́sica, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad del Bı́o-Bı́o, Concepción, Chile
b
Centro FONDAP de Investigación en Dinámica de Ecosistemas Marinos de Altas Latitudes (IDEAL),
Universidad Austral de Chile, Valdivia, Chile
c
Department of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences, University of British Columbia, Vancouver,
Canada.
d
Departamento de Oceanografı́a, Universidad de Concepción, Concepción, Chile
e
Centro FONDAP Interdisciplicario de Investigación en Acuicultura Sustentable (INCAR), Universidad de
Concepción, Concepción, Chile

Abstract

Climatological hydrographic data for the southeastern Pacific from the World Ocean Atlas
show an extended low-salinity region associated with high rainfall/river runoff along the
Chilean Patagonia coast. However, the structure and variability of this extensive freshwater
area is poorly understood due to the lack of periodic hydrographic observations. Here, we use
15 years of satellite observations in combination with hydrographic data from Argo profiling
floats to increase our understanding of the freshwater structure and its seasonal variability off
western Patagonia. Satellite-derived seasonal fields of surface salinity from Aquarius/SAC-D
and SMAP (Soil Moisture Active Passive) satellite missions reveal a prominent coastal band
of low-salinity water year-round (fresher during spring and summer). Hydrographic profiles
from Argo floats confirm this coastal freshening. The major content of freshwater is located
off central Patagonia, where the low-salinity surface layer dominates the stratification of
the upper ocean. In contrast, the freshwater content plays a minor role in setting up the
stratification off northern and southern Patagonia. A warm surface layer greatly increases
the stability of the upper 500 m in the northern sector (especially in summer and fall),
whereas cold temperatures in the southern region tend to damp zonal density gradients and
decrease the stratification. Future studies at interannual scales are suggested considering
the melting of Patagonian icefields since the 1960s.

1
 Keywords: freshwater content, stratification, Argo floats, Aquarius, Chilean Patagonia

1 1. Introduction

2 Freshwater runoff influences coastal ecosystems, changing nutrient ratios (Justić et al.,
3 1995), sediment budgets (Milliman & Syvitski, 1992), air-sea CO2 fluxes (Körtzinger, 2003),
4 water column stratification (Zavialov et al., 2003; Sobarzo et al., 2007) and circulation
5 patterns (Kourafalou et al., 1996; Horner-Devine, 2009). In addition, river runoff can be
6 associated with significant sources of pollutants (Reifel et al., 2009) and particulate and
7 dissolved materials (Dagg et al., 2004) into the coastal ocean.
8 Studies of freshwater outflows have been principally focused on relatively large and/or
9 localized sources of freshwater as single river plumes (e.g. O’Donnell, 1997), with dynamics
10 primarily controlled by the effects of Earth’s rotation, winds, tides, buoyancy, and the
11 outflow inertia (Garvine, 1995; Fong & Geyer, 2002; Warrick et al., 2004; Whitney & Garvine,
12 2005; Lentz & Largier, 2006). In terms of river plumes’ coastal impacts, recent studies have
13 highlighted that closely spaced rivers tend to form merged buoyant plumes with increased
14 area cover (Saldı́as et al., 2012; Warrick & Farnsworth, 2017). These plumes usually present
15 a non-linear relationship between plume area and river watershed area, which is consistent
16 with the spreading of anomalously large buoyant plumes (Warrick & Fong, 2004).
17 Large contributions of freshwater into the coastal ocean (∼10000-70000 m3 s−1 ) occur
18 in polar and subpolar regions (e.g. Royer, 1982; Hill et al., 1998; Dávila et al., 2002) in
19 response to elevated rates of precipitation, runoff, and/or ice melting (Dávila et al., 2002;
20 Mernild et al., 2008; Neal et al., 2010; Déry et al., 2011). As result, a fresh, buoyancy-
21 driven, coastal current is formed (Royer, 1979; Johannessen et al., 1989; Weingartner et al.,
22 2005; Sutherland & Pickart, 2008). While major fractions of freshwater (>10 m) have
23 been reported for the Alaska (Royer, 1982; Johnson et al., 1988), Greenland (Jones et al.,
24 2008), and Norwegian (Mork, 1981) coastal currents, little is known about buoyancy-driven

∗
Corresponding author
Email address: gsaldias@ubiobio.cl (Gonzalo S. Saldı́as)
Preprint submitted to Progress in Oceanography October 20, 2018
25 currents off western Patagonia (southern Chile) where a major fjord/channel system (from
26 ∼40◦ S to 56◦ S) provides roughly 27800-33500 m3 s−1 of freshwater into the coastal ocean,
27 as evidenced by an extensive low-salinity tongue (Neshyba & Fonseca, 1980; Dávila et al.,
28 2002). Although there are a number of studies conducted in inner fjords and channels of
29 Patagonia (e.g. Calvete & Sobarzo, 2011; Pantoja et al., 2011; Iriarte et al., 2014), the
30 adjacent coastal ocean remains poorly studied. The climatological distribution of surface
31 salinity from the World Ocean Atlas (1994) shows that the influence of low-salinity waters
32 reaches from the coast to roughly 80◦ W, i.e. about 5 degrees of zonal extension (Dávila
33 et al., 2002). However, little is known about the influence of this freshwater plume on
34 stratification and the freshwater plume spatio-temporal variability. Stratification is not
35 only important on acting against vertical mixing but also on impacting the local coastal
36 biogeochemistry of northern Patagonia – e.g. harmful algal blooms have been found to be
37 triggered under reduced vertical stratification and high solar radiation conditions in summer
38 (e.g. León-Muñoz et al., 2018).
39 The main oceanic water masses in the study have been identified as Subantarctic Water
40 (SAAW), Equatorial Subsurface Water (ESSW), Antarctic Intermediate Water (AAIW),
41 and Pacific Deep Water (PDW) (Silva & Konow, 2015; Silva et al., 2009; Schneider et al.,
42 2003). The SAAW occupies a surface layer of ∼100 m, whereas ESSW penetrates right
43 below as a southward tongue with low temperatures, high density and low oxygen (between
44 ∼100-200 m). AAIW, being characterized by a subsurface (∼200-1000 m) salinity minimum,
45 spreads northward below ESSW and above PDW, which is mostly confined below 1000 m
46 (e.g. Silva et al., 2009). In the coastal region, however, SAAW is mixed with fresher water
47 from river outflows, rain, and ice melting, which results in Modified Subantarctic Waters
48 (MSAAW) (Pickard, 1971; Silva et al., 1995; Sievers & Silva, 2008). The MSAAW is the
49 main water mass involved in our freshwater quantification in the coastal region off western
50 Patagonia.
51 In this work we assess the freshwater structure and its seasonal variability off western
52 Patagonia. Section 2 describes the data and methods. The results and discussion are
53 presented in section 3. Finally, section 4 contains a brief summary and highlights future
3
54 research directions in relation with the freshwater impacts off western Patagonia.

55 2. Data and methods

56 2.1. Argo profiling floats

57 We use profiles of temperature, salinity, and pressure from Argo profiling floats during the
58 period January 2003-October 2017 (see Figure 1). Argo floats are programmed to descend to
59 a parking level between 1000 and 2000 m. At depth they drift with the currents for a period
60 of approximately 10 days, after which they rise to the surface recording temperature and
61 salinity in a continuous profile (Roemmich et al., 2009). These floats are a key component of
62 climate studies, especially in high-latitude regions where shipboard measurements are scarce
63 (e.g. Freeland & Cummins, 2005; Dong et al., 2008; Sallée et al., 2010). We only use good
64 quality-controlled data from the Argo website (http://www.argo.ucsd.edu/), which add
65 up to a total of 14,411 profiles for the regional domain in Figure 1a. The vertical resolution
66 of the profiles varies according with the flags of good data, but in general, most profiles had
67 at least one (3-4) good measurements in the upper 5 (20) m. The higher vertical resolution
68 is about 1 m in the upper 100 m, whereas the coarser resolution varies ∼50 m below the 400
69 m depth. When comparing surface salinity from satellite observations and Argo floats, an
70 average upper layer of 0-15 m has been considered. Argo floats started occupying the study
71 area by the end of 2002, and the number of profiles per month has increased considerably
72 since early 2015 (Figure 1c). There is higher density of profile data in the northern part of
73 the study area (north of 44◦ S); however, the number of good-quality profiles for the central
74 and southern regions exceeded or fluctuated around 500 casts per latitudinal bin of 1 degree
75 (Figure 1b). To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study that analyzes data from
76 Argo floats to assess the freshwater structure off western Patagonia. Argo data have been
77 previously used to study freshwater content and fluxes in other regions (Phillips et al., 2005;
78 Parampil et al., 2010).

4
 79 2.2. Satellite data
80 Satellite wind fields from the SeaWinds sensor on NASA’s QuikSCAT satellite area
81 available from the Physical Oceanography Distributed Active Archive Center (PODAAC;
82 https://podaac.jpl.nasa.gov). We use L2 science quality monthly composites with spa-
83 tial resolution of 0.25 x 0.25◦ to compute seasonal climatologies of wind stress (1999-2009).
84 The wind stress was computed following Large & Pond (1981).
85 Monthly rain rate data from the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) satellite
86 described in NCAR Climate Data Guide website (https://climatedataguide.ucar.edu/
87 climate-data/trmm-tropical-rainfall-measuring-mission) are available from NASA
88 (https://disc.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/). TRMM satellite is the first space-borne radar to
89 measure precipitation from space Simpson et al. (1988, see). Because of its low inclination
90 orbit mostly covers the tropics and high-latitude regions are not fully covered with rain rate
91 measurements from TRMM for our study region, TRMM data are available north of ∼49◦ S
92 (see Figure 2e-h).
93 Ocean color (Chlorophyll-a; Chla, and Remote Sensing Reflectance at 645 nm; Rrs(645))
94 and SST imagery from MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) onboard
95 the Aqua satellite are available from NASA’s ocean color website (https://oceancolor.
96 gsfc.nasa.gov/). We use all monthly L3 files with spatial resolution of 4 x 4 km. We
97 include ocean color and SST data to further characterize the region of freshwater influence.
98 The Rrs(645) is included because of its appropriate signature for detecting and tracking
99 freshwater outflows in coastal regions (e.g. Lahet & Stramski, 2010; Saldı́as et al., 2016b).
100 The most commonly used ocean color proxy for monitoring freshwater outflows is the re-
101 flectance band centered on the 555 nm wavelength (e.g. Nezlin & DiGiacomo, 2005; Saldı́as
102 et al., 2016a; Mendes et al., 2017); here we use the reflectance band centered on 645 nm
103 because it has a shallower penetration depth and, hence, lower bias from bottom turbidity
104 readings in shallow coastal regions (e.g. Costoya et al., 2016).
105 Sea surface salinity can only be measured recently from satellite observations, with the
106 launch of Aquarius in 2011 (Lagerloef et al., 2008). Mapped sea surface salinity data from
107 Aquarius (August 2011-June 2015) and SMAP (Soil Moisture Active Passive; April 2015-
5
108 July 2017) are available from the Physical Oceanography Distributed Active Archive Center
109 (PODAAC). The Aquarius instrument, onboard the Aquarius/SAC-D satellite, consists of
110 three radiometers in a push broom alignment at incidence angles of 29, 38, and 46 degrees
111 relative to the shadow side of the orbit. Footprints for the beams are 76 km (along-track)
112 x 94 km (cross-track), 84 km x 120 km, and 96 km x 156 km, yielding a total cross-track
113 swath of 370 km (see https://podaac.jpl.nasa.gov/aquarius). The SMAP satellite is
114 in a near-polar orbit at an inclination of 98 degrees and an altitude of 685 km. It has
115 a larger swath coverage, which allows an increased spatial resolution of approximately 40
116 km in comparison with the 100 km of Aquarius (https://podaac.jpl.nasa.gov/SMAP).
117 Compared to Aquarius, the ability of SMAP to observe the same location at the Earth
118 surface from different directions/viewing angles helps to eliminate various spurious signals
119 that are a function of viewing direction, such as signals from the sun, galaxy, moon, or
120 the Earth’s ionosphere intruding on the antenna. Moreover, the significant difference in
121 spatial resolution (40 km vs.100 km) makes SMAP data are noisier than Aquarius, however,
122 this noise can be reduced by temporal averaging the data over days or weeks (see http:
123 //www.remss.com/blog/SMAP-Ocean-Salinity/). We used the level 3 gridded products
124 aggregated in monthly composites. Seasonal composites of satellite surface salinity are
125 presented in Figure 3 along with surface salinity from Argo floats.

126 2.3. Upper ocean stratification and freshwater content

127 The stability of the water column (i.e., stratification) was quantified through the Brunt-
128 Väisälä frequency or buoyancy frequency (N ) and the Potential Energy Anomaly (PEA; J
129 m−3 ). N is a measure of the strength of the stratification through the water column and is
130 given by:
g ∂ρ
N2 = − (1)
ρo ∂z
131 where ρ is the potential density, ρo is the average potential density, g is the acceleration
132 due to gravity, and z is depth. Here we use N/2π, which is expressed in cycles per hour
133 (cph). The PEA is defined as the amount of mechanical energy required to instantaneously

6
134 homogenize the water column (Simpson et al., 1981):

1Z0
P EA = gz(ρ̄ − ρ)dz (2)
h −h
1 R0
135 where ρ̄ is the depth-average density (ρ̄ = h −h
ρdz), ρ is the density, g is the acceleration
136 due to gravity, and h is the water column depth. Consequently, the more stratified the water
137 column, the greater the PEA.
138 The Freshwater Content (FWC; m), which represents the thickness of freshwater in the
139 water column, was estimated following Blanton & Atkinson (1983):
Z 0
(so − s)
FWC = dz (3)
−d so

140 where s is salinity, so is the reference salinity, and d is the depth at which the reference salin-
141 ity is located (plume thickness). We use an so equal to 33.9 and 34 to quantify the relative
142 changes of freshwater content along the zonal sections off western Patagonia. These values
143 were chosen considering the isohaline structure of the upper ocean and the wedge-shape of
144 low-salinity waters near the coast. The rationale of this choice is to identify the relative
145 freshness of Modified Subantarctic Waters (MSAAW), which results from the dilution of
146 Subantarctic Surface Waters (SAAW) by rivers, rain, and ice melting in the region (Pickard,
147 1971; Silva et al., 1995). The cross-shore profiles of FWC are analyzed in conjunction with
148 PEA to highlight the freshwater’s impact on stratification – both cross-shore curves would
149 be similar in shape only if stratification is completely influenced by salinity. Thus, devia-
150 tions from one another involves the effects of thermal stratification, and/or other forcings
151 influencing stratification. The matrix implementation for curve fitting with least squares
152 is used in a regression model (Emery & Thomson, 2004) between the cross-shore curves of
153 FWC and PEA. The skill (r2 ) in the analyzes ranges from zero to one and it is defined as
154 the ratio of variances between the predicted and original curves – high skill suggest a high
155 influence of FWC over the cross-shore profile of PEA.

7
156 3. Results and Discussion

157 3.1. Seasonal variability of wind stress, rain rate, SST, Chla, and Rrs(645)

158 The wind stress off most of western Patagonia blows predominantly eastward (Figure 2a-
159 d). Northward wind stress (upwelling-favorable) is found around the nearshore area north
160 of ∼42◦ S in spring and summer (Figure 2a,d). The strongest wind stress also occurs during
161 spring and summer with a predominant southward component (downwelling-favorable) off
162 southern Patagonia (Figure 2a,d). These seasonal wind patterns are consistent with other
163 climatological analyses for the region (e.g. Strub et al., 2013) and imply a strong wind forcing
164 over the upper ocean. The annual cycle of rain rate shows high values over land (∼39.5-
165 46◦ S) during fall and winter, and medium-to-low values in spring and summer in northern
166 Patagonia (Figure 2e-h). The lack of satellite observations of rain rate in the southern part of
167 the domain prevent the characterization of the rainfall seasonality; however, it is documented
168 that the maximum rainfall in southwestern Patagonia occurs in spring and summer (Aravena
169 & Luckman, 2009). The seasonal evolution of the SST is characterized by the highest values
170 toward the northern zone in summer (Figure 2i), and the lowest SST off southern Patagonia
171 (∼5-6◦ C) in winter, with the largest northward extension (Figure 2k). Surface Chla presents
172 a less dramatic seasonal cycle for most of the coastal ocean (Figure 2m-p); nonetheless, the
173 greatest Chla values in inland waters of the Inner Sea of Chiloe (∼41.5-44◦ S) are found in
174 spring and summer (Figure 2a,p), consistent with previous studies based on satellite-derived
175 measurements (Iriarte et al., 2007; Lara et al., 2017). On average, enhanced cross-shore Chla
176 gradients are developed during spring and summer, with a marked decrease in Chla values
177 (<0.2 mg m−3 ) ∼80-85◦ W, typical for open-ocean waters (Figure 2m-p). The freshwater
178 proxy, Rrs(645), presents marked seasonal differences, especially in the northern and central
179 part of the study area (Figure 2q-t): the freshest signal is weakest in the fall and strongest
180 in spring and summer north of ∼52◦ S. Note that this freshwater zone is consistent with the
181 low-salinity tongues previously reported in other studies (Neshyba & Fonseca, 1980; Dávila
182 et al., 2002). Even though this freshwater proxy has been used extensively to study the
183 variability of small-scale river plumes in other coastal regions (e.g. Lahet & Stramski, 2010;

8
184 Costoya et al., 2016) including the coastal zone off central Chile (Saldı́as et al., 2016b), it
185 has not been used off western Patagonia. Future studies taking advantage of the increased
186 spatio-temporal resolution of this ocean color proxy will provide additional insights on the
187 submesoscale freshwater features and their evolution through the annual cycle – note that
188 small-scale (i.e. few kilometers) seasonal differences in the signal of Rrs(645) are clearly
189 evidenced, with a decreased cross-shore plume extension ∼40-44◦ S in summer versus spring
190 (Figure 2q,t).

191 3.2. Annual cycle of surface salinity

192 Fresher coastal waters are observed in spring and summer from both Aquarius and SMAP
193 (Figure 3a-h), yet the low-salinity band is narrow and restricted nearshore in spring in
194 Aquarius observations (Figure 3d). The increased spatial resolution of SMAP better resolves
195 the low-salinity features along the coast – the fresher region during spring and summer is
196 located around the Gulf of Penas (GP), approximately between 44◦ S and 48◦ S (Figure
197 3e,h). Also, the coastal region with the lowest surface salinity is found further south (∼48-
198 52◦ S) in fall (Figure 3f), which is not possible to corroborate through the Argo data due
199 to the lack of profiling floats in that region (Figure 3j). Despite the low spatial resolution
200 of Aquarius observations, these show a coherent fresh tongue (with medium salinity values
201 ∼33.5-34) extending offshore off central Patagonia and limited by higher salinity values (>34)
202 farther north/south. This feature corresponds well with the surface salinity from Argo data
203 (Figure 3i-l) but is not clearly seen through SMAP (Figure 3e-h). In general, the seasonal
204 distribution of Argo float profiles shows good spatial coverage (Figure 3i-j). The average
205 surface (0-15 m) salinity confirms the higher freshening observed from satellite observations
206 during spring and summer off central Patagonia (Figure 3i-l), however, the decreased spatial
207 resolution of Aquarius does not allow to properly compare with the profiling floats. Future
208 studies are encouraged to use satellite products with increased resolution (as SMAP), in
209 combination with in situ observations, to perform an advanced analysis of the freshwater
210 impact off western Patagonia and its interannual variability. In this sense, we plan to assess
211 the influence of the Pacific Decadal Oscillation and Antarctic Oscillation on the modulation

9
212 of freshwater conditions off western Patagonia because of their known impacts on river
213 outflows in southern Chile during summer (Rubio-Álvarez & McPhee, 2010).

214 3.3. Vertical freshwater structure

215 Contrasting vertical profiles of salinity (curves) and potential density (color coded) are
216 shown in Figure 4 for the upper 500 m. In all cases, the coastal profiles (located within the
217 nearshore 100 km over the lower surface salinity band in Figure 3i-l) show a fresher surface
218 layer than farther offshore. Also, the subsurface layer below 200 m presents salinity values
219 >34 for all selected profiles (Figure 4). The northern coastal region presents the largest
220 vertical salinity variability: a freshwater layer (<33.7) commonly characterizes the upper
221 20-30 m and a subsurface maximum (34.3-34.5) is located around 150-200 m (Figure 4a-d).
222 This subsurface salinity maximum corresponds to Equatorial Subsurface Waters (Silva et al.,
223 2009), which is the main water mass fertilizing the nearshore region during coastal upwelling
224 events off central-southern Chile (Sobarzo et al., 2007). Also, its southward extension has
225 been reported as far south as approximately 48◦ S (Silva & Neshyba, 1979). The largest
226 freshwater influence (in terms of salinity) is found off central Patagonia (46.5-47.5◦ S) and
227 principally during spring and summer (Figure 4e,h), which corresponds better with a low-
228 density buoyant surface layer in summer, as the surface layer is warmer in summer (less
229 dense than in spring; Figure 4h). Off southern Patagonia, on the other hand, the lower
230 salinity values are also found in summer, but the upper ocean is denser than the rest of the
231 coastal ocean off austral Chile (Figure 4i-l), mainly due to colder surface temperatures (see
232 next section).

233 3.4. Alongshore freshwater structure

234 Meridional averaged sections segregating profiles in coastal (4 degrees of zonal extension
235 from the main coastline) and oceanic (4 degrees of zonal extension ∼85-81◦ W) regions are
236 shown in Figure 5. In comparison with the oceanic region, the coastal region is characterized
237 by a fresher upper ocean (< 33.8) and a subsurface extension of the poleward undercurrent
238 (depicted by a high-salinity tongue, > 34.3) as far south as ∼45◦ S (Figure 5d). Potential

10
239 temperature is less distinct between the coastal and oceanic regions, with a notorious north-
240 south gradient of warm to cold upper ocean temperatures (Figure 5e,f). The meridional
241 gradient also shows in with the potential density field (contours) in the oceanic region
242 (Figure 5c,e), which suggests a dominant role of temperature over the density field. This is
243 also consistent with the stratification field (Figure 5g), which is higher where the vertical
244 temperature gradient is stronger (Figure 5e). For the coastal region, the surface freshwater
245 promotes a different upper ocean structure; the isopycnal of 26.5 kg m−3 outcrops further
246 south, and the 26 and 25.5 kg m−3 isopycnals outcrop off central Patagonia, where the lowest
247 salinity freshwater is found (Figure 5d). The maximum stratification is located between the
248 26 and 25.5 kg m−3 isopycnals (Figure 5h), which is coherent with the base of low-salinity
249 waters north of ∼49◦ S (Figure 5d).
250 Standard deviation fields indicate high hydrographic variability along the coastal region
251 (Figure 6). The salinity field presents contrasting variability patterns along both meridional
252 sections. The oceanic region presents very low variability indicating that the mean salinity
253 field (Figure 5c) is a persistent meridional structure (Figure 6c). In contrast, high salinity
254 variability is found in the upper coastal ocean off central and southern Patagonia (Figure
255 6d), which agrees well with the regions of minimum mean surface salinity (Figure 5d). This
256 suggest that the seasonal variability of freshwater outflows from the continent plays a key
257 role in modulating the upper ocean structure and its variability in the coastal region off
258 austral Chile, as it was previously suggested by Dávila et al. (2002). The thermal structure
259 does not show high variability in the central and southern zones of dominant freshwater
260 influence (Figure 6f). However, the fluctuations of the buoyancy frequency suggest that
261 temperature and salinity variability impact the stratification variability of the coastal ocean:
262 high variability in stratification from northern to central Patagonia along the 26 and 25.5 kg
263 m−3 and outcropping in the central zone, where the lower surface salinity is found (Figure 5d)
264 with increased salinity variability (Figure 6d). Thus, high surface temperature fluctuations
265 in the northern zone (Figure 6f) and increased variability of surface salinity in the central
266 region (Figure 6d) promote high density and stratification variability in the upper ∼100 m
267 north of ∼50◦ S (Figure 6h).
11
268 The seasonal variability of low-salinity waters and its link with the stratification of the
269 coastal ocean is illustrated in Figure 7. Low-salinity waters are mostly restricted to central
270 Patagonia, with a larger latitudinal extension and lower salinity values in spring and summer
271 (Figure 7a,g). The maximum stratification is confined in a subsurface layer along the 25.5 kg
272 m−3 in summer (Figure 7b), where freshwater (warm water; not shown) plays a major role
273 in promoting a highly stratified upper ocean in the central (northern) part of the study area
274 (Figure 7a,b). Low-salinity waters are also presented in fall and winter, but they correspond
275 to more localized points around the central region (Figure 7c,e).

276 3.5. Cross-shore freshwater structure

277 To better understand the cross-shore freshwater structure and mean offshore extent of
278 the low-salinity waters, averaged zonal hydrographic sections are shown together with the
279 cross-shore FWC and PEA profiles off northern, central, and southern Patagonia (Figure 8).
280 On average, the presence of low-salinity waters controls, to a large extent, the stratification
281 off central Patagonia (Figure 8b), as indicated by a high skill in space of FWC and PEA.
282 Stratification in all cases is higher near shore where there is a low-salinity wedge (Figure
283 8a-f, Figure 8j-l); however, the FWC and PEA zonal profiles present contrasting magnitudes
284 off northern and southern Patagonia: in the northern region, the high stratification is only
285 partially due to the freshwater content (PEA curve is much higher, in relative terms, than
286 the FWC curve), which is mostly due to a warm surface layer (Figure 8a,d). In contrast,
287 the low temperature in the southern part of the study area (Figure 8i) plays a crucial role in
288 decreasing the magnitude of the stratification, thereby counteracting the freshwater influence
289 (Figure 8c).
290 The seasonal variability of the cross-shore salinity (color and magenta contours) and
291 potential density (white contours) fields are presented in Figure 9. A low-salinity coastal
292 wedge is present through the annual cycle, but its thickness and offshore extension vary
293 considerably (Figure 9; magenta contours). The northern section presents the lowest coastal
294 salinities during spring and summer (Figure 9a,j). Nonetheless, the freshwater core appears
295 to be advected further offshore in summer than spring, when the low-salinity plume is closer

12
296 to shore (Figure 9a,j). The central line does not show a remarkable seasonal variability
297 of salinity: the 33.8 and 33.9 isohalines outcrop to the surface around 79-80◦ W (Figure
298 9b,e,h,k). The frontal position of the buoyant plume, as seen by the surface position of the
299 26 kg m−3 isopycnal, though, varies considerably from near shore in winter to far offshore in
300 summer (Figure 9b,e,h,k). The fresh surface layer is considerably thicker in winter than in
301 spring or summer, when the buoyant plume extends offshore (Figure 9b,e,h,k). This offshore
302 extension is consistent with the classic theory of the response of a buoyant plume to the
303 effects of wind stress, in which upwelling-favorable winds promote the offshore transport
304 and thinning of a freshwater plume (e.g. Lentz & Largier, 2006). Although the mean wind
305 stress fields during spring and summer (Figure 2a,d) do not reveal an important along-
306 shore component off central Patagonia, short-term upwelling events can drive freshwater
307 transport offshore. Finally, the southern section presents the greatest surface salinity gra-
308 dients in spring, relatively close to shore (Figure 9l). A freshwater wedge can be identified
309 throughout the annual cycle but, in agreement with the annual composites presented in
310 Figure 8, decreased stratification and horizontal density gradients are evident due to the
311 low temperature and relatively homogeneous potential density field (Figure 9c,f,i,l, white
312 contours). The persistent freshwater conditions along western Patagonia throughout the
313 annual cycle (Figure 9) might vary at interannual scales since an increased melting/thinning
314 of Patagonian icefields has been reported since 1968/1975 (Rignot et al., 2003), but it is out
315 of the scope of this study. Interannual fluctuations of freshwater outflows can promote high
316 freshwater variability in the coastal ocean, as reported for other high latitude systems (e.g.
317 Royer, 2005).
318 The seasonal evolution of the relative role of freshwater on stratification is discussed based
319 on cross-shore profiles of FWC and PEA (Figure 10). The highly stable upper water column
320 along the northern section is only partially explained by the FWC during spring, summer,
321 and fall (skill is lower than 0.86); however, the peak of the PEA curves are in agreement with
322 the maximum FWC in spring and fall (Figure 10a,d,j). Thus, the freshwater input into this
323 region seems to control, to some extent, the spatial distribution of stratification, particularly
324 in winter with the highest skill bewteen FWC and PEA (Figure 10g). In contrast, the impact
13
325 of the freshwater distribution is crucial for the zonal variability of PEA off central Patagonia
326 (Figure 10, middle panels), especially during spring and summer (skill of 0.98 and 0.99
327 respectively), as the greatest differences in cross-shore PEA are consistent with a maximum
328 FWC near shore (Figure 10b,k). In the southern section, the cross-shore variability of PEA is
329 minimum (Figure 10, right panels), which suggests that the control of FWC on stratification
330 in the coastal region is damped by the low temperature – the low skill is consistent with
331 this idea with the exception of wintertime. Although we have not evaluated the role of
332 other forcings and mechanisms (e.g. wind, heat fluxes, tidal straining, etc) on the evolution
333 of stratification in the coastal ocean off western Patagonia as it is out of the scope of this
334 study, we plan to carry out another work on the budgets of temperature and salinity and the
335 forcings involved in the stratification and mixing of this coastal region – the reader is referred
336 to previous studies elsewhere on the potential forcings acting on controlling stratification in
337 the coastal ocean (Burchard & Hofmeister, 2008; de Boer et al., 2008). Future studies in this
338 region should perform a detailed analysis of the role of freshwater and stratification on local
339 biogeochemical processes as harmful algal blooms have been found during summer when
340 there is high solar radiation (e.g. León-Muñoz et al., 2018). Note that increased Chla is
341 observed in a narrow coastal region primarily north of ∼46◦ S in spring and summer (Figure
342 2m,p), which coincides with the main season of low-salinity waters off western Patagonia
343 (Figure 3e-h). Interannual variability of Chla in inland waters of western Patagonia has
344 been linked to climate variability (Lara et al., 2016), yet an assessment of the impact of
345 freshwater and stratification conditions on the local productivity on interannual scales is
346 still missing.

347 4. Summary

348 The Chilean Patagonia coastal ocean is characterized by high freshwater conditions as a
349 result of elevated rainfall and multiple freshwater outflows from rivers and/or glacial melting.
350 Here we use, for the first time, the extensive hydrographic data from Argo profiling floats,
351 in combination with satellite observations of salinity, to analyze the freshwater structure
352 and its influence on the stratification off western Patagonia. The highest freshwater content
14
353 is located off central Patagonia, with considerable seasonal variability in the position of
354 the offshore low-salinity front. During spring and summer, the freshwater buoyant plume
355 feature is well-extended offshore in a relatively thin, low-salinity wedge feature. Conversely,
356 the low-salinity plume-like structure is restricted to the shore during winter. In general, the
357 influence of freshwater on stratification is dominant off central Patagonia, whereas in the
358 northern and southern sections, temperature plays a dominant role shaping the cross-shore
359 stratification profile (as described by the PEA). The FWC and PEA curves, however, co-vary
360 similarly in the cross-shore direction off the northern section (specially in spring and fall),
361 which suggests freshwater plays an important role on the position of maximum stratification
362 ∼39-41◦ S. Given the documented climate influence on the melting of Patagonian ice fields
363 (e.g. Rignot et al., 2003), the freshwater conditions are expected to vary on interannual and
364 longer timescales relevant to climate variability and change.

365 Acknowledgements

366 We thank the Ocean Biology Processing Group (Code 614.2) at the Goddard Space
367 Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771, for the production and distribution of the ocean color
368 and SST data. Argo data were collected and made freely available by the Coriolis project
369 and programmes that contribute to it (http://www.coriolis.eu.org). Satellite wind, and
370 surface salinity from Aquarius and SMAP were obtained from PODAAC-NASA. G.S. has
371 been supported by a NSERC Banting Postdoctoral Fellowship during the last stage of this
372 manuscript. Additional support from the Millennium Nucleus ”Center for the Study of
373 Multiple-drivers on Marine Socio-Ecological Systems (MUSELS)” funded by MINECON
374 NC120086 is also acknowledged. M.S., R.Q. and G.S. were also partially supported by
375 INCAR (FONDAP-CONICYT No. 15110027).

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Figure 1: (a) Study area off southern Chile showing the location of Argo float profiles in gray dots. Number
of profiles as function of (b) latitude using bins of one degree, and (c) time using monthly bins. The location
of the Gulf of Penas (GP) is specified in (a).

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Figure 2: Seasonal climatology of (a–d) QuikSCAT wind stress (1999-2009), (e–h) TRMM rain rate (2003-
2017), (i–l) MODIS SST (2003-2017), (m–p) MODIS Chla (2003-2017), and (q–t) MODIS nLw(645) (2003-
2017). The seasons are defined as summer (JFM), fall (AMJ), winter (JAS), and spring (OND).

22
Figure 3: Seasonal variability of surface salinity from (a–d) Aquarius (2011-2014), (e–h) SMAP (2015-2017),
and (i–l) surface Argo floats (2003-2017). The seasons are defined as summer (JFM), fall (AMJ), winter
(JAS), and spring (OND). Grey circles in bottom panels correspond to the location of selected profiles shown
in Figure 4. Surface salinity for Argo floats corresponds to the average upper 15 m.

23
Figure 4: Selected coastal (C) and oceanic (O) profiles of salinity and potential density anomaly (in colors)
off northern (a-d), central (e-h), and southern (i-l) Patagonia. The location of the profiles are also shown in
Figure 3 (bottom panels; grey circles). A black solid line is also included in the coastal profiles for better
visualization.

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Figure 5: Meridional sections of average (c,d) salinity, (e,f) potential temperature, and (g,h) buoyancy
frequency for the selected (left panels) oceanic and (right panels) coastal regions. Coastal and oceanic
regions correspond to the areas from the coast to 4 degrees offshore, and from 8 to 12 degrees offshore,
respectively. The number of profiles included in the averages are shown in (a-b). The contours of potential
density are shown overlaid in white/black (c-h).

25
Figure 6: Meridional sections of standard deviations of (c,d) salinity, (e,f) potential temperature, and (g,h)
buoyancy frequency for the (left panels) oceanic and (right panels) coastal regions. Coastal and oceanic
bands correspond to the regions from the coast to 4 degrees offshore, and from 8 to 12 degrees offshore,
respectively. The number of profiles included in the averages are shown in (a-b). The contours of potential
density are shown overlaid in white/black (c-h).

26
Figure 7: Meridional sections of (left panels) salinity, and (right panels) buoyancy frequency for the coastal
region (region from the coast to 4 degrees offshore) by seasons. The isopycnals of 25.5, 26, 26.5 and 27 kg
m−3 are shown overlaid in white/black.

27
Figure 8: (a-c) Freshwater Content (FWC) and Potential Energy Anomaly (PEA) as a function of longitude,
and zonal sections of (d-f) salinity, (g-i) potential temperature, and (j-l) buoyancy frequency for northern
(left panels), central (middle panels), and southern (right panels) Patagonia. The isopycnals of 25.5, 26,
26.5 and 27 kg m−3 are shown overlaid in white (d-l), and the isohalines of 33.7, 33.8, 33.9, and 34 are
shown overlaid in magenta (d-f).

28
Figure 9: Seasonal variability of the salinity field off northern (left panels), central (middle panels), and
southern (right panels) Patagonia. The isopycnals of 25.5, 26, 26.5 and 27 kg m−3 are shown overlaid in
white, whereas the isohalines of 33.8, 33.9, and 34 are shown overlaid in magenta (a-l).

29
Figure 10: Seasonal variability of FWC and PEA off northern (left panels), central (middle panels), and
southern (right panels) Patagonia. FWC (PEA) curves are shown in blue (red). The skill (r2 ) of the
regression fitting between FWC and PEA is also shown.

30
The freshwater structure off western Patagonia is characterized from Argo profiling floats.

Satellite observations from Aquarius and SMAP shows an extended low-salinity coastal region in
agreement with the data from Argo floats.

The major content of freshwater is located off central Patagonia, where freshwater and stratification
present high skill.

freshwater content plays a minor role in setting up the stratification off northern and southern
Patagonia.