Over 100 samples were collected off the west coast of North America during 1991-1993 to determine the relation between wind-driven upwelling and nearshore concentrations of dissolved silicate (Si), phosphate (P), and cadmium (Cd). Highly enriched in deep water offshore, these constituents are sensitive indicators of upwelling. Coastal water was sampled from the shore in January and June 1992 at 12 sites distributed between 36 degrees and 48 degrees N latitude. In January the composition of nearshore water along this transect was fairly uniform: 5-15 mu mol/kg for Si, 0.5 to 1.0 mu mol/kg for P, and 0.1-0.3 nmol/kg for Cd. In June, elevated concentrations of Si (30 mu mol/kg), P (2.0 mu mol/kg), and Cd (0.6 nmol/kg) revealed a region of intense upwelling between 38 degrees and 40 degrees N. The pattern is broadly consistent with meridional gradients in coastal upwelling calculated from the long-term mean of alongshore winds compiled from ship reports. Nearshore water was also collected biweekly to monthly at two sites 3 km apart near San Francisco Bay (37.5 degrees N) during 1991-1993. The variability seen in the time series suggests that the composition of nearshore water integrates the effect of alongshore winds over timescales of several weeks. Seasonal variations in Si (5-50 mu mol/kg), P (0.5-2.5 mu mol/kg), and Cd (0.1-0.8 nmol/kg) concentrations were consistent with upwelling during spring and summer. Maximum Si, P, and Cd concentrations reached in May 1991 were consistent with advection to the very nearshore region from a depth of about 300 m relative to a vertical profile at a distance of 200 km from the coast. Nearshore Si, P, and Cd concentrations were reduced relative to 1991 in 1992 and, to a lesser extent, in 1993 due to weaker upwelling linked to the warm phase of the Fl Nino-Southern Oscillation. During periods of weaker upwelling or downwelling, variations in P, Si, and Cd concentrations became uncoupled. There is a good correlation between the coastal Cd time series near San Francisco Bay (37.5 degrees N) and a second order polynomial function of the the upwelling index of Bakun [1975] at 35 degrees N, filtered with a 30-day running mean (r(2) = 0.71, n=39). The index is a daily estimate of coastal upwelling calculated from 6-hourly mean atmospheric pressure distributions at 36 degrees N. From this function and a record of daily upwelling indices we infer a range of annually averaged coastal Cd concentrations of at least 0.3-0.5 nmol/kg since 1967. Cd/Ca ratios in shells of foraminifera from San Francisco Bay suggest that average coastal ed concentrations 3500-4500 years ago were at the upper end of this range.
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