Satellite Observations of Asymmetrical Physical and Biological Responses to Hurricane Earl

Wei Shi, NOAA/NESDIS/STAR, wei.1.shi@noaa.gov (Presenter)
Menghua Wang, NOAA/NESDIS/STAR, menghua.wang@noaa.gov

Asymmetrical physical and biological responses to Hurricane Earl in 2010 are revealed with a combined data set of the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) ocean color and Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer EOS (AMSR-E) SST observations onboard the satellite Aqua. Hurricane Earl induced broad SST drops and elevated chlorophyll-a concentrations along its track. The ocean's physical and biological responses are notably right-biased when the hurricane passed along the U.S. East Coast. In the ranges within 100 km off the track, the SST dropped 1.85{degree sign}C and 1.23{degree sign}C on the right and left sides, respectively. On the other hand, the ratios of the chlorophyll-a concentration before and after the passage of Hurricane Earl are 2.04 on the right side and 1.33 on the left. In addition to the satellite-observed sea surface changes, temperature and salinity profiles of an Argo float on Earl's track show the ocean's physical response occurred mostly within the mixed layer and thermocline in the upper 70 m water column.

Presentation Type:  Poster

Session:  Coupled Processes at Land-Atmosphere-Ocean Interfaces   (Mon 4:00 PM)

Associated Project(s): 

• Wang, Menghua: Ocean Color Remote Sensing in the Coastal Regions ...details

Poster Location ID: 82