American Geophysical Union Become an AGU Member
Subscribe to AGU Journals		 AGU Home AGU Publications

Read Full Article (file size: 219367 bytes)    Cited by

GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH LETTERS, VOL. 31, L17304, doi:10.1029/2004GL020668, 2004

Hurricane forcing on chlorophyll-a concentration off the northeast coast of the U.S.

Amélie Davis

Graduate College of Marine Studies, University of Delaware, Newark, Delaware, USA


Xiao-Hai Yan

Graduate College of Marine Studies, University of Delaware, Newark, Delaware, USA


Abstract

The effect of known physical disturbances caused by hurricanes on chlorophyll-a concentration ([Chl]) is ascertained using remote sensing. This study focuses on all seven hurricanes which affected the northeast (NE) Coast of the U.S. during the Sea-viewing Wide Field-of-view Sensor's (SeaWiFS) lifetime. It is shown that [Chl] increases significantly across the continental shelf of the eastern seaboard after the passage of a hurricane, with also a marked filamentation. The disturbances caused by hurricanes on the biological scale constitute strong and persistent events providing further evidence of the role that upwelling and mixing exert on [Chl] variation.

Received 3 June 2004; accepted 11 August 2004; published 14 September 2004.

Index Terms: 4855 Oceanography: Biological and Chemical: Plankton; 4885 Oceanography: Biological and Chemical: Weathering; 4815 Oceanography: Biological and Chemical: Ecosystems, structure and dynamics.

Read Full Article (file size: 219367 bytes)    Cited by

Citation: Davis, A., and X.-H. Yan (2004), Hurricane forcing on chlorophyll-a concentration off the northeast coast of the U.S., Geophys. Res. Lett., 31, L17304, doi:10.1029/2004GL020668.