Eddy-induced upwelling off Cape São Tomé (22°S, Brazil)

The regional ocean off southeast Brazil (20°S–28°S) is known as a current-eddy-upwelling region. The proximity of the Brazil Current to the coast in the Cape São Tomé vicinities, as well as of its quasi-stationary unstable meanders, suggests the possibility of background eddy-induced upwelling. Such phenomenon can intensify the prevalent coastal upwelling due to wind and topographic effects. In this paper, with the help of a numerical simulation, we provide evidence that eddy-induced upwelling in the absence of wind is possible in this region. The simulation was conducted with a regional configuration of the 3-D Princeton Ocean Model initialized by a feature-based implementation of the Brazil Current and Cape Frio eddy, blended with climatology.