Current Research

The impact of submarine canyons on the circulation and dynamics of the continental shelf

Wind-driven flows

The impact of coastal trapped waves

Relevant publications

• Pedro A. Figueroa, Gonzalo S. Saldías, Susan E. Allen. (2025). The influence of a submarine canyon on the wind-driven downwelling circulation over the continental shelf. Ocean Science, doi:10.5194/os-21-643-2025.
• Odette Vergara, Pedro Figueroa, Cristian Salas, Sebastián I. Vásquez, Richard Muñoz, Gonzalo S. Saldías. (2024). The influence of the Biobio Canyon on the circulation and coastal upwelling/downwelling off central Chile. Continental Shelf Research, doi:10.1016/j.csr.2024.105335.
• Saurav Sahu, Susan E. Allen, Gonzalo S. Saldías, Jody M. Klymak, Li Zhai. (2022). Spatial and temporal origins of the La Perouse low oxygen pool: A combined Lagrangian approach. Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans, doi:10.1029/2021JC018135.
• Gonzalo S. Saldías, Karina Ramos-Musalem, Susan E. Allen. (2021). Circulation and upwelling induced by coastal trapped waves over a submarine canyon in an idealized eastern boundary margin. Geophysical Research Letters, doi:10.1029/2021GL093548.
• Gonzalo S. Saldías, Susan E. Allen. (2020). The influence of a submarine canyon on the circulation and cross-shore exchanges around an upwelling front. Journal of Physical Oceanography, doi:10.1175/JPO-D-19-0130.1.
• Marcus Sobarzo, Gonzalo S. Saldías, Fabian J. Tapia, Luis Bravo, Carlos Moffat, John L. Largier. (2016). On subsurface cooling associated with the Biobio River Canyon (Chile). Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans, 121, 4568-4584, doi:10.1002/2016JC011796.

Research Projects

• A modeling study of the influence of the Biobio Canyon on physical and biogeochemical processes off central Chile. ECOS-ANID 2023, 2024-2026. Principal Investigator.
• Revisiting coastal upwelling and cross-shore transport off central-southern Chile: The impact of submarine canyons. FONDECYT Regular 1220167, 2022-2026. Principal Investigator.
• The missing peace of the puzzle: exploring the role of submarine canyons on the functioning of coastal upwelling system off central-southern Chile. Concurso Nacional de Acceso a Embarcaciones para Investigación Científica 2022 (AUB2200011). Principal Investigator.
• The impact of numerous submarine canyons on upwelling of deep/slope water onto the continental shelf. NSERC-Canada 2018-2019. Principal Investigator.

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The influence of freshwater plumes and outflows on the coastal ocean

River plumes from small mountainous rivers

Freshwater outflows in the high latitude system off western Patagonia

Relevant publications

• Gonzalo S. Saldías, Pedro A. Figueroa, David Carrasco, Diego A. Narváez, Iván Pérez-Santos, Carlos Lara. (2024). Satellite-derived variability of sea surface salinity and geostrophic currents off Western Patagonia. Remote Sensing. doi:10.3390/rs16091482.
• Alonso Roco, Raúl P. Flores, Megan Williams, Gonzalo S. Saldías. (2024). Observations of river-wave interactions at a small-scale river mouth. Coastal Engineering, doi:10.1016/j.coastaleng.2024.104456.
• Julio Salcedo-Castro, Antonio Olita, Freddy Saavedra, Gonzalo S. Saldías, Raúl Cruz-Gómez, Cristian D. de la Torre Martínez. (2023). Modelling the interannual variability of Maipo and Rapel river plumes off central Chile. Ocean Science, doi:10.5194/os-19-1687-2023.
• Cristian M. Rojas, Gonzalo S. Saldías, Raúl P. Flores, Sebastián I. Vásquez, Cristian Salas, Cristian A. Vargas. (2023). A modeling study of hydrographic and flow variability along the river-influenced coastal ocean off central Chile. Ocean Modelling, doi:10.1016/j.ocemod.2022.102155.
• Marcus Sobarzo, Camila Soto-Riquelme, Raúl P. Flores, Gonzalo S. Saldías. (2022). Synoptic flow variability in a river-influenced inner shelf off central Chile. Journal of Marine Science and Engineering, doi:10.3390/jmse10040501.
• Raúl P. Flores, Carlos Lara, Gonzalo S. Saldías, Sebastián I. Vásquez, Alonso Roco. (2022). Spatio-temporal variability of turbid freshwater plumes in the Inner Sea of Chiloé, northern Patagonia. Journal of Marine Systems, doi:10.1016/j.jmarsys.2022.103709.
• Alexander Galán, Gonzalo S. Saldías, Andrea Corredor-Acosta, Richard Muñoz, Carlos Lara, Jose Luis Iriarte. (2021). Argo float reveals biogeochemical characteristics along the freshwater gradient off western Patagonia. Frontiers in Marine Science, doi:10.3389/fmars.2021.613265.
• Gonzalo S. Saldías, P. Ted Strub, R. Kipp Shearman. (2020). Spatio-temporal variability and ENSO modulation of turbid freshwater plumes along the Oregon coast. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science, doi:10.1016/j.ecss.2020.106880.
• Julio Salcedo-Castro, Gonzalo S. Saldías, Freddy Saavedra, David Donoso. (2020). Climatology of Maipo and Rapel River plumes off central Chile from numerical simulations. Regional Studies in Marine Science, doi:10.1016/j.rsma.2020.101389.
• Gonzalo S. Saldías, Marcus Sobarzo, Renato Quiñones. (2019). Freshwater structure and its seasonal variability off western Patagonia. Progress in Oceanography, 174, 143-153.
• Fernanda Henderikx Freitas, Gonzalo S. Saldías, Miguel Goñi, R. Kipp Shearman, Angelicque E. White. (2018). Temporal and spatial dynamics of physical and biological properties along the Endurance Array of the California Current Ecosystem. Oceanography, 31, 80-89.
• Renato Mendes, Gonzalo S. Saldías, Maite deCastro, Moncho Gómez-Gesteira, Nuno Vaz, João M. Dias. (2017). Seasonal and interannual variability of the Douro turbid river plume, northwestern Iberian Peninsula. Remote Sensing of Environment, 194, 401-411.
• Gonzalo S. Saldías, John L. Largier, Renato Mendes, Iván Pérez-Santos, Cristian A. Vargas, Marcus Sobarzo. (2016). Satellite-measured interannual variability of turbid river plumes off central–southern Chile: Spatial patterns and the influence of climate variability. Progress in Oceanography, 146, 212-222.

Research Projects

• Estructura y variabilidad de alta frecuencia de frentes termohalinos en la zona de canales y fiordos entre el Estrecho de Magallanes y el Canal Beagle. CIMAR 27 Fiordos CONA C27F, 2024. Principal Investigator.
• Variabilidad meridional en el contenido de agua dulce, flujo geostrófico, y estructura termohalina en el océano costero de la Patagonia Chilena: implicancias en la formación de agregaciones de zooplancton. CIMAR 29 Fiordos CONA C29F 24-05, 2024. Principal Investigator.
• The fate of freshwater in the surfzone: assessing the roles of the short and long wave forcings. FONDECYT Regular 1231494, 2023-2027. Co-investigator.
• Bio-optical gradients along the river-estuary-coastal ocean continuum of northern Patagonia. FONDECYT Regular 1230420, 2023-2026. Co-investigator.
• Submesoscale frontal dynamics of a river-influenced continental shelf off central Chile. FONDECYT Regular 1190805, 2019-2022. Principal Investigator.