SURFACE FEATURES OF THE CIRCULATION IN FJORDS OF SOUTHERN CHILE OBSERVED IN ERS AND LANDSAT IMAGES
Surface features of the hydrodynamics at the mouth of Aysen Fjord, in the Chilean Inland Sea, were described using Landsat and ERS-SAR images in combination with field data. A set of seventeen radar images from ERS, along with one Landsat (ETM) were analyzed to study the surface features observed in this region, where fresh water input is an important contributor to the dynamics of the estuarine system. Field data were provided by current measurements obtained with an Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler (ADCP) mounted in a catamaran looking downward, which was towed from a boat during two semidiurnal cycles to obtain repetitions over two transverse transects. There were also density measurements obtained from CTD (Conductivity, Temperature and Depth) vertical profiles in the water column and from a surface termosalinograph (Conductivity, Temperature) mounted onboard of a research vessel. The results of this campaign in Aysen Fjord were associated to the surface features observed in satellite images. The results show the main features of the circulation at the mouth of this fjord and other phenomena of interest for physical oceanography. Noteworthy is a frontal structure suggested on both types of images. This feature is partially supported by ADCP measurements and strongly suggested by density measurements. Packages of internal waves in Costa Channel are also suggested in radar images, while the distribution of the fresh water plume is supported by the Landsat image. Satellite images provided valuable guidance to focus the research in a selected area and phenomena.