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 Chile of a regional coupled physical–biogeochemical regional model simulation was analyzed for the period 2000–2008, noting that its fluctuations were significant despite the relatively weak amplitude of the El Niño/Southern Oscillation (ENSO). In particular, the interannual variability in the OMZ volume (OMZVOL, defined as the volume with dissolved oxygen concentration (DO) ≤ 45μM) was approximately 38% larger than that of the seasonal cycle, with maximum and minimum anomalies of OMZVOL taking place during two cold La Niña (LN) years ...

We investigate the seasonal variability of the southern tip (30°–38°S) of the eastern South Pacific oxygen minimum zone (OMZ) based on a high horizontal resolution (1/12°) regional coupled physical‐biogeochemical model simulation. The simulation is validated by available in situ observations and the OMZ seasonal variability is documented. The model OMZ, bounded by the contour of 45 μM, occupies a large volume (4.5x10⁴ km³) during the beginning of austral winter and a minimum (3.5x10⁴ km³) at the end of spring, just 1 and 2 months after the southward transport of the Peru‐Chile Undercurrent (PCUC) is maximum and minimum, respectively. We showed that the PCUC significantly impacts the alongshore advection of dissolved oxygen (DO) modulating the OMZ seasonal variability. However, zonal transport of DO by meridionally alternating zonal jets and mesoscale eddy fluxes play also...