Topographic Controls on Bioproductivity and Organic Carbon Deposition, Oman Arabian Sea Coastal Upwelling Region

John C. Brock, William W. Hay

Ocean boundary currents impinging on swallow shelves and coastal capes may undergo oceanward divergence driven by the conservation of potential vorticity. This process may result in local upwelling, enhanced primary productivity, and increased organic richness in sediments. Combined with reconstructions of past coastline configurations and models of paleo-ocean circulation, the recognition of this process should enable the hindcasting of more specific sites of organic carbon enrichment than has previously been possible.

Preliminary investigations of ocean circulation along the southeastern coast of Arabia during recent southwest monsoon seasons suggest that continental shelf topography and coastal promontories act to focus upwelling. Thermal infrared NOAA advanced very high resolution radiometer images acquired during the 1981, 1982, 1983, and 1985 southwest monsoon seasons depict localized regions of depressed sea surface temperature near a major shelf break and coastal capes. These regions of cooler surface water may result from topographically focused upwelling plumes.

Present work includes the development of a numerical ocean model to predict the effect of topography on the southwest monsoon current as it encounters the Omani coast. Thermal infrared and visible band satellite remote sensing is being integrated with in-situ vertical temperature profiles and sea surface temperature observations in order to assess horizontal and vertical water motion and surface layer bioproductivity during the monsoonal upwelling season. The effects of topographically focused coastal upwelling on organic carbon deposition are being assessed by the mapping of the total organic carbon content of surface sea-floor sediments.

AAPG Search and Discovery Article #91022©1989 AAPG Annual Convention, April 23-26, 1989, San Antonio, Texas.