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Full-Text Articles in Meteorology

Synergistic Use Of Remote Sensing And Modeling To Assess An Anomalously High Chlorophyll-A Event During Summer 2015 In The South Central Red Sea, Wenzhao Li, Hesham El-Askary, K. P. Manikandan, Mohamed A. Qurban, Michael J. Garay, Olga V. Kalishnikova Jul 2017

Synergistic Use Of Remote Sensing And Modeling To Assess An Anomalously High Chlorophyll-A Event During Summer 2015 In The South Central Red Sea, Wenzhao Li, Hesham El-Askary, K. P. Manikandan, Mohamed A. Qurban, Michael J. Garay, Olga V. Kalishnikova

Mathematics, Physics, and Computer Science Faculty Articles and Research

An anomalously high chlorophyll-a (Chl-a) event (>2 mg/m3) during June 2015 in the South Central Red Sea (17.5° to 22°N, 37° to 42°E) was observed using Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) data from the Terra and Aqua satellite platforms. This differs from the low Chl-a values (<0.5 mg/m3) usually encountered over the same region during summertime. To assess this anomaly and possible causes, we used a wide range of oceanographical and meteorological datasets, including Chl-a concentrations, sea surface temperature (SST), sea surface height (SSH), mixed layer depth (MLD), ocean current velocity and aerosol optical depth (AOD) obtained from different sensors and models. Findings confirmed this anomalous behavior in the spatial domain using Hovmöller data analysis techniques, while a time series analysis addressed monthly and daily variability. Our analysis suggests that a combination of factors controlling nutrient supply contributed to the anomalous phytoplankton growth. These factors include horizontal transfer of upwelling water through eddy circulation and possible mineral fertilization from atmospheric dust deposition. Coral reefs might have provided extra nutrient supply, yet this is out of the scope of our analysis. We thought that dust deposition from a coastal dust jet event in late June, coinciding with the phytoplankton blooms in the area under investigation, might have also contributed as shown by our AOD findings. However, a lag cross correlation showed a two- month lag between strong dust outbreak and the high Chl-a anomaly. The high Chl-a concentration at the edge of the eddy emphasizes the importance of horizontal advection in fertilizing oligotrophic (nutrient poor) Red Sea waters.


Contrasting The 2007 And 2005 Hurricane Seasons: Evidence Of Possible Impacts Of Saharan Dry Air And Dust On Tropical Cyclone Activity In The Atlantic Basin, D. Sun, K. M. Lau, Menas Kafatos Jan 2008

Contrasting The 2007 And 2005 Hurricane Seasons: Evidence Of Possible Impacts Of Saharan Dry Air And Dust On Tropical Cyclone Activity In The Atlantic Basin, D. Sun, K. M. Lau, Menas Kafatos

Mathematics, Physics, and Computer Science Faculty Articles and Research

In this study, we provide preliminary evidence of possible modulation by Saharan dust of hurricane genesis and intensification, by contrasting the 2007 and 2005 hurricane seasons. It is found that dust aerosol loadings over the Atlantic Ocean are much higher in 2007 than in 2005. The temperature difference between 2007 and 2005 shows warming in the low-middle troposphere (900–700 hPa) in the dusty region in the eastern North Atlantic, and cooling in the Main Development Region (MDR). The humidity (wind) differences between 2007 and 2005 indicate significant drying (subsidence) in the Western North Atlantic (WNA) in 2007. The drier air …