Héctor Hito Sepúlveda

University of Concepción · Departamento de Geofísica

The spatial and seasonal variability of nutrients and chlorophyll in the southern Humboldt Current System were assessed using a high-resolution regional ocean circulation model (ROMS) coupled to a biogeochemical model (Pelagic-Interactions Scheme for carbon and Ecosystem Studies; PISCES). The simulated nutrients and chlorophyll fields were validate...

The Chilean Inland Sea (CIS) has natural conditions for marine tidal energy development. Recent studies show that lunar variability in the tides should be considered, because the practical power generation varies considerably when large differences exist between spring and neap tides. Using a high resolution (∼1 km) 2D depth-averaged numerical mode...

This research evaluates the impact of information sources on the feasibility of a Hybrid Renewable Energy System (HRES). Due to their isolation and low population density, island communities satisfy their demand for electricity through thermoelectric plants. Diesel is the main fossil fuel used. This fuel must be imported, which translates into high...

The objective of this review is to present the characteristics and trends in hybrid renewable energy systems for remote off-grid communities. Traditionally, remote off-grid communities have used diesel oil-based system to generate electricity. Increased technological options and lower costs have resulted in the adoption of hybrid renewable energy-b...

The Chilean Inland Sea (CIS) is an extensive estuary system with a complex topography and many fjords and channels. The degrees of stratification and mixing in the CIS are strongly affected by river discharges, high levels of rainfall, wind, and tidal forces. Field and satellite observations have suggested that stratification and mixing fluctuate o...

Resumen Con el objetivo de establecer una línea de base hidrodinámica en la Región de Magallanes se está desarrollando una simulación oceanográfica climatológica de alta resolución usando el modelo numérico CROCO, en el marco del proyecto "Microbiomas" del Centro Regional CEQUA para la región de Magallanes. El estudio se centra en reproducir el cic...

Una escasez hídrica ha estado afectando a Chile en los últimos años. Debido a los efectos negativos que puede generar el déficit de agua en el medio ambiente y en la población, es necesario mejorar nuestro entendimiento sobre la influencia de los factores climáticos y antropogénicos en la reducción hídrica, especialmente en regiones áridas como el...

Oxygen minimum zones (OMZs) are extended oceanic regions for which dissolved oxygen concentration is extremely low. They are suspected to be expanding in response to global warming. However, currently, the mechanisms by which OMZ varies in response to climate variability are still uncertain. Here, the variability of the subtropical OMZ off central...

We predicted small-scale hydrodynamics, including the effect of the aquaculture farming infrastructure, for a region within the group of salmon farm concessions identified in the Chilean regulation as ACS-7. The geographical region corresponds to the Caucahue Channel, composed of two branches connected by a constriction on Caucahue Island, Inland S...

The Chilean Western Patagonia has the highest wind potential resources in South America. Its complex terrain deserves a special attention for wind modeling and assessments. In this work, we have performed a comprehensive meso-scale climate simulation on Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) in order to provide new insights into the wind climatolog...

Poster presentado en la Primera Conferencia Internacional “Cambio Global y Conservación Biocultural” del Centro Internacional Cabo de Hornos (CHIC) desde el 15 al 18 de mayo de 2023 en Puerto Williams, isla Navarino, Chile.

Off the central-southern Chilean coast (35°–38°S), the Gulf of Arauco is one of Chile's largest semi-enclosed coastal areas. It hosts industrialized activities within a highly productive zone of the Southern Humboldt Current System. One of the principal hydrodynamical forcings of the region is the Biobio River, whose discharge significantly influen...

El recurso global asociado a energía undimotriz (wave) y energía mareomotriz (tidal stream), ha sido estimado en 32000 TWh/yr y 640 TWh/yr, respectivamente, que podría satisfacer el consumo mundial de electricidad de 21372 TWh/yr (IEA, 2017). En el año 2016 el Banco Mundial reportó que 889,7 millones de personas no tienen acceso a la electricidad,...

Lcalbucura2017@udec.cl-https://chonos.ifop.cl/ Resumen Los modelos numéricos de predicción meteorológica están sujetos a errores sistemáticos que pueden llegar a proporcionar resultados que no se apegan a la realidad. Sin embargo, en lugares donde existe una serie de tiempo observada lo suficientemente larga, el sesgo puede ser corregido. En este t...

Modelo de dispersión para el dinoflagelado Alexandrium catenella en el sur de Chile. Se reproducen matemáticamente las fases de crecimiento (fase vegetativa) de este dinoflagelado y la reproducción celular. Este modelo sigue en desarrollo para ser aplicado a futuro como prónostico de dispersión en caso de floración algal nociva

The main objective of this study was the lagrangian characterization of virtual larvae in the great bay of Coquimbo through the application of computational tools related with the study of ocean circulation and larval transport. For this purpose, a hydrodynamic climatological simulation using the CROCO model was implemented to characterize the circ...

Introducción FLOW es una herramienta perteneciente al sistema de observación oceanográfica CHONOS, del IFOP(Castro). Esta herramienta contiene in-formación de caudal de alrededor de 30.000 cuencas hidrológicas de la Patag-onia Occidental. FLOW fue confeccionado utilizando el modelo hidrológico de macroescala VIC, donde los datos de precipitación y...

Entender la conectividad de los recursos bentónicos es importante ya que ayuda a defi-nir cuál es la escala espacial adecuada para su manejo, y a su vez identificar el rol que las AMERB juegan de acuerdo a la conectividad de sus poblaciones locales (ej. fuente, sumidero). La conectividad puede ser estudiada mediante una combinación de herramien-tas...

Despite ungauged basins exist across countries of a wide range of incomes, assessing water resource availability is an essential issue in low-income zones with less dense hydrologic measurement networks. In a megadrought context, hydrological resources availability is critical in the central south of Chile, leading to water scarcity problems for th...

Coastal zones are complex systems where sustainability needs local participative governance, whose absence may result in conflicts between social actors. In its absence, the first step should be a diagnosis of the current situation based on integrative conceptual frameworks such as the DPSIR. However, in conflicting situations, the generated model...

We present the characteristics and trends in hybrid renewable energy systems for remote off-grid communities. We evaluated 168 studies from the period 2002-2019 considered energy developments in Asia, northern Europe, Africa and South America, with the great majority in the northern hemisphere (n = 152, 90.5%). Many of the studied systems were loca...

The southern hake, Merluccius australis , is one of the most important marine fishery resources in Chilean Patagonia. However, little is known about its early life history, especially the transport of eggs and larvae and the connectivity between spawning and nursery areas. An individual-based model (IBM) of the early life stages of M. australis, co...

This paper presents a numerical study to assess the hydrodynamic effects of different levels of biofouling in fish cage aquaculture netting. The methodology adopted includes high resolution Large Eddy Simulation (LES) coupled to a regional model implemented within the framework of the Coastal and Regional Ocean Community Model (CROCO). The physical...

In order to look for climatological changes on significant wave height and wind magnitude distributions, two decades of altimeter data were analyzed in a monthly 1° x1° grid at the Southeastern Pacific Ocean, offshore of Chile. Both wind magnitude and significant wave height shown significant growing medians, at a rate of up to 0.2 m.dec-1 and 1 m....

The winds that affect the surface of the ocean are also important for a vast array of activities, either operational or scientific, hence the importance of being able to adequately predict this parameter. Because of the preceding fact, a WRF model was used to perform simulations at the surface of the Ocean, for winds derived from different border c...

Las Contribuciones Determinadas a nivel Nacional (NDC, por sus siglas en inglés) se han convertido en un instrumento clave para comprometer principalmente metas de mitigación y adaptación al cambio climático. Gestadas en el Acuerdo de París (2015) aspiran a cumplir dos de sus objetivos más ambiciosos: mantener el incremento de la temperatura global...

Off the coast of central Chile, subsurface anticyclonic eddies are a salient feature of the oceanic circulation, transporting a significant fraction of coastal water that is rich in nutrients and poor in dissolved oxygen offshore. In this study, the formation mechanism of these eddies is analyzed through a high‐resolution (~0.3 km) and low‐resoluti...

There is a growing interest in understanding how the current climate changes will affect the Earth system. In this regard, numerical modeling of the atmosphere and climate system is a powerful tool to forecast future conditions. The low resolution of General Circulation Models (GCMs) makes them unsuitable for the specific case of Chile, a long and...

Central Chile, home to more than 10 million inhabitants, has experienced an uninterrupted sequence of dry years since 2010 with mean rainfall deficits of 20–40%. The so‐called Mega Drought (MD) is the longest event on record and with few analogues in the last millennia. It encompasses a broad area, with detrimental effects on water availability, ve...

Upwelling filaments are long (≈ 100's km) narrow (O ≈ 10 km) structures in the coastal ocean. They export nutrients and prevent the movement of larvae along the coast. Filaments can be observed in satellite images and in numerical models, but their manual identification and characterization is complex and time consuming. Here we present a Matlab co...

We analyzed the spatial pattern of wave extremes in the South Atlantic Ocean by using multiple altimeter platforms spanning the period 1993–2015. Unlike the traditional approach adopted by previous studies, consisting of computing the monthly mean, median or maximum values inside a bin of certain size, we tackled the problem with a different proced...

The interaction between local hydrodynamics conditions and salmon cages are important in disease transmission and in the transport of waste products generated by aquaculture. We propose a modeling methodology to assess the hydrodynamic effects of a salmon farm in a Patagonian channel. The method is based on the coupling between a Coastal and Region...

El Mar Interior de Chiloé (MIC) (41-47 °S) es un área de gran interés oceanográfico pues contiene una extensa y compleja red de canales y cuencas semi-cerradas, donde se desarrolla una importante actividad en acuicultura. El Instituto de Fomento Pesquero (IFOP), se desarrolló un sistema pre-operacional de pronóstico océanico para esta región, el cu...

El Mar Interior de Chiloé (MICCIS, 41 - 47 °S) tiene condiciones naturales para el estudio de Energías Marinas Renovables (EMR) por las fuertes corrientes mareales que lo caracterizan. Estudios recientes muestran que la potencia practica anual varía considerablemente cuando existen grandes diferencias entre periodos de sicigia y cuadratura.

There is a growing interest in understanding how the current climate changes will affect the Earth system. In this regard numerical modelling of the atmosphere and climate system is a powerful tool to forecast future conditions. The low resolution of General Circulation Models (GCMs), makes them unsuitable for the specific case of Chile, a long and...

While large mass mortality events (MMEs) are well known for toothed whales, they have been rare in baleen whales due to their less gregarious behaviour. Although in most cases the cause of mortality has not been conclusively identified, some baleen whale mortality events have been linked to bio-oceanographic conditions, such as harmful algal blooms...

National Fisheries Service cruise report.

While large mass mortality events (MMEs) are well known for toothed whales, they have been rare in baleen whales due to their less gregarious behaviour. Although in most cases the cause of mortality has not been conclusively identified, some baleen whale mortality events have been linked to bio-oceanographic conditions, such as harmful algal blooms...

While large mass mortality events (MMEs) are well known for toothed whales, they have been rare in baleen whales due to their less gregarious behaviour. Although in most cases the cause of mortality has not been conclusively identified, some baleen whale mortality events have been linked to bio-oceanographic conditions, such as harmful algal blooms...

While large mass mortality events (MMEs) are well known for toothed whales, they have been rare in baleen whales due to their less gregarious behaviour. Although in most cases the cause of mortality has not been conclusively identified, some baleen whale mortality events have been linked to bio-oceanographic conditions, such as harmful algal blooms...

In the present work, we used a one-dimensional model (ROMS1D) along with oceanographic observations based on a 15-yr time series to quantify and validate potential changes in surface waters driver by atmospheric forcings.

A numerical model is implemented to describe fluid dynamic processes associated with mid-latitude small- scale (10 km) upper ocean fronts by using modified state of the art computational fluid dynamics tools. A periodic system was simulated using three different turbulent closures: 1) URANS-Reynolds Stress Model (RSM, seven equation turbulence mode...

A modified state of the art Computational Fluid Dynamics code is used to implement a highly resolved LES model of a mid-latitude upper ocean front. We investigate the spectral kinetic energy flux at the submesoscale/small-scale range through numerical simulations in order to assess the inverse and forward kinetic energy cascades at these scales and...

Mediciones y ROMS1D en la Estación 18. Detalle: Se intenta replicar una serie de tiempo de una estación costera ubicada en Pacífico sur-oriental mediante una simulación con ROMS1D, para luego realizar experimentos asociados a la mezcla superficial.

La genealogía académica se entiende como los lazos formales entre formadores (tutore(a)s, profesore(a)s guía o co-guía) y alumna(o)s de postgrado (magíster o doctorado). En este contexto presentamos los resultados preliminares de una genealogía académica de las ciencias del mar en Chile, considerando información de algunos programas de postgrado de...

Dispersal and adaptation are the two primary mechanisms that set the range distributions for a population or species. As such, understanding how these mechanisms interact in marine organisms in particular – with capacity for long-range dispersal and a poor understanding of what selective environments species are responding to – can provide useful i...

The goal of this work is to estimate nearshore wave energy resources in central Chile with high spatial resolution. Due to the lack of in situ measurements a suite of numerical models are used to assess the wave energy between 2009-2010. We compare the effects of different wind forcing reanalysis, particularly CFSR and ERA-Interim, and physics para...

The seasonal variability of the hydrology and the poleward subsurface Peru-Chile Undercurrent (PCUC) off the central Chilean coast (29°-41°S) were examined using a high resolution regional model. The model realistically reproduced observed sea level variability, such as intense anticyclonic eddies, the offshore intensification of the poleward flow...

Inspirados en los resultados del proyecto QCN, desarrollamos instrumental meteorológico de bajo costo basado en microcontroladores Arduino UNO con sensores de temperatura, humedad relativa, presión, y luz. Este enfoque, por su bajo costo y características open-source, permite armar redes observacionales de alta densidad por un costo al de un equipo...

WRF aplicado a glaciares

The goal of this work is to estimate nearshore wave energy resources in central Chile with high spatial resolution numerical modeling, between 2009 and 2010. We study the effect of different wind forcing reanalyses, particularly CFSR and ERA-Interim, and physics parametrizations on numerical simulations of the nearshore wave energy fluxes near Valp...

1th International Conference on Southern Hemisphere Meteorology and Oceanography

SARAL AltiKa GDR-T are analysed to assess the quality of the significant wave height (SWH) measurements. SARAL along-track SWH plots reveal cases of erroneous data, more or less isolated, not detected by the quality flags. The anomalies are often correlated with strong attenuation of the Ka-band backscatter coefficient, very sensitive to clouds and...

III Encuentro Nacional de Didáctica de la Física

The Chilean coastline is over 5,000 km long and has an average wave power of 39 kW/m, increasing north to south, from 19.6 to 66 kW/m respectively [1]. Nevertheless, despite the huge potential, there is still not a significant drive to develop wave energy projects. This work aims to evaluate the development of a wave energy project at two specifics...

The Bío Bío region of Chile experienced a vigorous aftershock sequence following the 2010 February 27 Mw 8.8 Maule earthquake. The immediate aftershock sequence was captured by two temporary seismic deployments: the Quake Catcher Network Rapid Aftershock Mobilization Program (QCN RAMP) and the Incorporated Research Institutions for Seismology CHile...

A Large Eddy Simulation (LES) model was used to describe the hydro- dynamic effects of a salmon farm on an incident current with constant and semidiurnal variability. In particular, we describe the formation of a zone of low velocity (wake) downstream of the farm and the advection of a passive tracer released inside the farm. The mesh of salmon far...

3er Congreso de Oceanografia Fisica, Meteorologia, y Clima del Pacifico Sur Oriental

1er Encuentro Nacional de Didáctica de la Física

We report the use of a 3-dimensional variational (3DVAR) data assimilation method as part of a numerical model off northern Chile. The numerical model is part of an ocean forecasting project that aims to understand the impact of environmental variability on the distribution of biological species in the area. We assimilated data from a simulated oce...

The paper by Alvarez et al. (2011) describes the use of a hydrodynamic numerical model to study the dispersion and sedimentation of particles at 2 points in Bahía Anegada (Argentina). This study is aimed to study the role of Crassostrea gigas as an invasive species. It is concluded that the particles liberated at those points do not represent a ris...

IV Congreso Nacional de Acuicultura

The southeastern coast of Chile (30-45°S, 83-77°W) is an important environment for sardine (Strangomerabentincki), a commercially important resource in Chile (~1MTons annually). Superimposed on the large-scale circulation, mesoscale eddies are important features of the ocean dynamics that can impact the structuring of the ecosystem at different tro...

Climate Variability and Change on Marine Resources and Fisheries: Toward a South Pacific Integrated Ecosystem Studies Program

II Encuentro Nacional de Modelacion Atmosférica

In a paper published recently in the Journal of Coastal Conservation, Al-Ghamdi (J Coast Conserv 14:63–69, 2010) analyzes the wastewater multi-pot outfall of Jeddah using CORMIX2 for average ambient conditions. Both the near–field and the far–field mixing are calculated with CORMIX2. It is found in Al-Ghamdi (J Coast Conserv 14:63–69, 2010) that th...

Measurements of currents, waves and winds were made in Seno de Reloncavi, Corcovado Gulf, (Pacific Coast/west area) of Chiloe and the Darwin Canal inlet. These observations were complemented with historical data, with the aim of determining wind, current and wave extreme values and local variability north of the Patagonic fjords in Chile. Results s...

LiveROMS is a bootable DVD that contains an Linux-based computer operating system which has a complete, functioning version of the ROMS ocean circulation model and an Octave version of ROMSTOOLS. It allows students and scientists to experiment with this ocean numerical model, with just a basic knowledge of Linux.

Analizamos 5 series de correntometros de la región de Aysen (~ 45 °S, 73 °W) en zonas aledañas a centros de cultivos de salmones. La región de Aysén presenta una baja densidad de datos comparadas con el resto de las regiones de Chile. Su estudio ha tomado relevancia los ultimos años, pues es una zona económicamente importante dado el nivel de activ...

XXXI Congreso Chileno de Ciencias del Mar

El propósito de este trabajo es estudiar la dinámica del oxigeno disuelto, corrientes, temperatura y salinidad en la zona aledaña a la isla Traiguén (~45°35’ S, 73°39’ W), Región de Aysén, Chile, entre el 16 de Enero y el 1 de Febrero del 2011

Rapid detection and characterization of earthquakes is essential for earthquake early warning systems, which have the potential to alert nearby populations about the approach of potentially damaging seismic waves ( e.g. , Allen and Kanamori 2003; Kanamori 2005). In addition, minimizing the time required to estimate the extent and amplitude of groun...

An analysis of four transportation systems (Vélib, Zipcar, ERP Singapore, and Transantiago) shows the strategic value of creating a symbiotic relationship between physical and informational systems in order to increase the convenience and patronage of these systems. The four information drives (ubiquity, uniqueness, unison, and universality) are ex...

AGU Meeting of the Americas

La experimentación es un paso muy importante en el acercamiento de los estudiantes al mundo de la física. Que cada uno realice el experimento entusiasma y el participar en el análisis de los datos permite a los alumnos involucrarse con el proceso de aprendizaje. Esto puede ser complicado pues para esto es necesario contar con un número suficiente d...

Primer Congreso de Oceanografía Física, Meteorología, y Clima

La idea de construir un robot submarino simple a control remoto, fue propuesta como tema a desarrollar dentro del curso de primer año, Introducción a la Geofísica, de la Universidad de Concepción. Este tema abarca muchos aspectos que lo hacen ideal para la docencia e investigación Física, Ingeniería, y Oceanografía. El robot es una ligera modificac...

XXIX Congreso Chileno de Ciencias del Mar

1] Intratidal variability of density and velocity fields is investigated at the turbidity front of the Río de la Plata Estuary, South America. Current velocity and temperature-salinity profiles collected in August 1999 along a repeated transect crossing the front are analyzed. Horizontal and vertical gradients, stability of the front, convergence z...

The Humboldt Current System (HCS) is one of the most productive marine ecosystems on earth. It extends along the west coast of South America from southern Chile (~42 ° S) up to Ecuador and the Galapagos Islands near the equator. The general oceanography of the HCS is characterised by a predominant northward flow of surface waters of subantarctic or...

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Old Dominion University, 2004. Includes bibliographical references.

We present the first measurements obtained with a combination of a towed acoustic Doppler current profiler (ADCP) and a conductivity–temperature–depth (CTD) recorder in the Rı́o de la Plata Estuary. Subtidal and tidal flows are described for austral winter and summer conditions. Data were collected at three transects 15km long for 25h during August...

Measurements of velocity and density profiles were made to describe the transverse structure of the flow in Aysen Fjord, Southern Chile (45.2°S and 73.3°W). Current profiles were made with a 307.2kHz acoustic doppler current profiler (ADCP) during 20 repetitions of a cross-fjord transect during one semidiurnal tidal cycle. The transect had a ∼320°...