A study of a Hurricane Katrina–induced phytoplankton bloom using satellite observations and model simulations

[1] Satellite observations of sea surface temperature (SST) and chlorophyll-a concentration from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on Aqua revealed a phytoplankton bloom event in the vicinity of the Loop Current (LC) in the Gulf of Mexico after Hurricane Katrina's passage in August 2005. The sea surface height (SSH) anomaly data derived from satellite altimetry measurements indicated that the phytoplankton bloom coincided with a LC frontal eddy and thus suggested that the cold-core eddy may have played a critical role in the phytoplankton bloom event. Using the Hybrid Coordinate Ocean Model (HYCOM), we have carried out numerical simulations to understand the mechanism that triggers the phytoplankton bloom after Katrina passage. The model study shows that the preexisting cold-core eddy strengthens the upper ocean dynamics and nutrient responses with significant increase of nutrient concentration after the passage of Hurricane Katrina, because of the uplift of nutrient fields within the cold-core eddy. The Hurricane Katrina–triggered phytoplankton bloom is attributed to the preexisting cold eddy as well as the slowly passing hurricane. The nutrient distribution after Hurricane Katrina indicates that the increase of nitrate concentration plays a dominant role in the development of the phytoplankton bloom.

[1]  Wei Shi,et al.  MODIS‐derived ocean color products along the China east coastal region , 2007 .

[2]  S. Levitus.  Climatological Atlas of the World Ocean , 1982 .

[3]  Guillermo P Podesta,et al.  The Influence of Loop Current Perturbations on the Formation and Evolution of Tortugas Eddies in the Southern Straits of Florida , 1998 .

[4]  Tommy D. Dickey,et al.  Upper-Ocean Temperature Response to Hurricane Felix as Measured by the Bermuda Testbed Mooring , 1998 .

[5]  Remy Baraille,et al.  The HYCOM (HYbrid Coordinate Ocean Model) data assimilative system , 2007 .

[6]  Menghua Wang.  Remote sensing of the ocean contributions from ultraviolet to near-infrared using the shortwave infrared bands: simulations. , 2007, Applied optics.

[7]  Rainer Bleck,et al.  Salinity-driven Thermocline Transients in a Wind- and Thermohaline-forced Isopycnic Coordinate Model of the North Atlantic , 1992 .

[8]  Menghua Wang,et al.  Retrieval of water-leaving radiance and aerosol optical thickness over the oceans with SeaWiFS: a preliminary algorithm. , 1994, Applied optics.

[9]  Frank E. Hoge,et al.  Satellite observation of Chromophoric Dissolved Organic Matter (CDOM) variability in the wake of hurricanes and typhoons , 2002 .

[10]  J. Carton,et al.  Satellite evidence of hurricane‐induced phytoplankton blooms in an oceanic desert , 2004 .

[11]  M. Clarke,et al.  Influence of Florida Current, gyres and wind-driven circulation on transport of larvae and recruitment in the Florida Keys coral reefs , 1992 .

[12]  A. Romanou,et al.  Gulf of Mexico circulation within a high-resolution numerical simulation of the North Atlantic Ocean , 2004 .

[13]  Peter G. Black,et al.  The 3D Oceanic Mixed Layer Response to Hurricane Gilbert , 2000 .

[14]  R. Elsberry,et al.  Vertical Structure of the Ocean Current Response to a Hurricane , 1989 .

[15]  J. Price,et al.  Upper Ocean Response to a Hurricane , 1981 .

[16]  Menghua Wang,et al.  Estimation of ocean contribution at the MODIS near‐infrared wavelengths along the east coast of the U.S.: Two case studies , 2005 .

[17]  W. Timothy Liu,et al.  New evidence for enhanced ocean primary production triggered by tropical cyclone , 2003 .

[18]  D. A. Brooks.  The Wake of Hurricane Allen in the Western Gulf of Mexico , 1983 .

[19]  Eric P. Chassignet,et al.  North Atlantic Simulations with the Hybrid Coordinate Ocean Model (HYCOM): Impact of the Vertical Coordinate Choice, Reference Pressure, and Thermobaricity , 2003 .

[20]  D. Leipper.  Observed Ocean Conditions and Hurricane Hilda, 1964 , 1967 .

[21]  Menghua Wang,et al.  Evaluation of MODIS SWIR and NIR-SWIR atmospheric correction algorithms using SeaBASS data , 2009 .

[22]  Rainer Bleck,et al.  An oceanic general circulation model framed in hybrid isopycnic-Cartesian coordinates , 2002 .

[23]  T. Prasad,et al.  Upper‐ocean response to Hurricane Ivan in a 1/25° nested Gulf of Mexico HYCOM , 2007 .

[24]  L. Atkinson,et al.  Observations of a Loop Current Frontal Eddy Intrusion Onto the , 1983 .

[25]  L. Pietrafesa,et al.  Effect of Bathymetric Curvature on Gulf Stream Instability in the Vicinity of the Charleston Bump , 2007 .

[26]  F. Vukovich.  On the Formation of Elongated Cold Perturbations off the Dry Tortugas , 1988 .

[27]  N. Walker,et al.  Hurricane‐forced upwelling and chlorophyll a enhancement within cold‐core cyclones in the Gulf of Mexico , 2005 .

[28]  Larry P. Atkinson,et al.  Florida Current meanders and gyre formation in the southern Straits of Florida , 1995 .

[29]  W. David Miller,et al.  Hurricane Isabel generated an unusual fall bloom in Chesapeake Bay , 2006 .

[30]  P. Black,et al.  Ocean Response to a Hurricane. Part I: Observations , 1987 .

[31]  R. Elsberry,et al.  Near-Inertial Ocean Current Response to Hurricane Frederic , 1987 .

[32]  Wei Shi,et al.  Observations of a Hurricane Katrina‐induced phytoplankton bloom in the Gulf of Mexico , 2007 .

[33]  Bulusu Subrahmanyam,et al.  Biophysical responses of the upper ocean to major Gulf of Mexico hurricanes in 2005 , 2008 .

[34]  J. Garratt.  Review of Drag Coefficients over Oceans and Continents , 1977 .

[35]  A. Mariano,et al.  Mean and Near-Inertial Ocean Current Response to Hurricane Gilbert , 1998 .

[36]  George Z. Forristall,et al.  Forced Stage Response to a Moving Hurricane , 1994 .