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JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH,
VOL. 109,
C03043,
doi:10.1029/2003JC001938,
2004
Satellite evidence of hurricane-induced phytoplankton blooms in an oceanic desert
S. M. Babin
Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, Maryland, USA
J. A. Carton
Department of Meteorology, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland, USA
T. D. Dickey
Ocean Physics Laboratory, University of California, Santa Barbara, Goleta, California, USA
J. D. Wiggert
Center for Coastal Physical Oceanography, Old Dominion University, Norfolk, Virginia, USA
Abstract
The physical effects of hurricanes include deepening of the mixed layer and decreasing of the sea surface temperature in response
to entrainment, curl-induced upwelling, and increased upper ocean cooling. However, the biological effects of hurricanes remain
relatively unexplored. In this paper, we examine the passages of 13 hurricanes through the Sargasso Sea region of the North
Atlantic during the years 1998 through 2001. Remotely sensed ocean color shows increased concentrations of surface chlorophyll
within the cool wakes of the hurricanes, apparently in response to the injection of nutrients and/or biogenic pigments into
the oligotrophic surface waters. This increase in post-storm surface chlorophyll concentration usually lasted 2–3 weeks before
it returned to its nominal pre-hurricane level.
Received 29
April
2003;
accepted 21
January
2004;
published 25
March
2004.
Index Terms: 0315 Atmospheric Composition and Structure: Biosphere/atmosphere interactions; 1640 Global Change: Remote sensing; 4504 Oceanography: Physical: Air/sea interactions (0312).
Read Full Article (file size: 2251828 bytes) Cited by
Citation: Babin, S. M., J. A. Carton, T. D. Dickey, and J. D. Wiggert
(2004),
Satellite evidence of hurricane-induced phytoplankton blooms in an oceanic desert,
J. Geophys. Res.,
109,
C03043,
doi:10.1029/2003JC001938.
Copyright 2004 by the American Geophysical Union.
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