Monitoring red tide with satellite imagery and numerical models: A case study in the Arabian Gulf

A red tide event that occurred in August 2008 in the Arabian Gulf was monitored and assessed using satellite observations and numerical models. Satellite observations revealed the bloom extent and evolution from August 2008 to August 2009. Flow patterns of the bloom patch were confirmed by results from a HYCOM model. HYCOM data and satellite-derived sea surface temperature data further suggested that the bloom could have been initiated offshore and advected onshore by bottom Ekman layer. Analysis indicated that nutrient sources supporting the bloom included upwelling, Trichodesmium, and dust deposition while other potential sources of nutrient supply should also be considered. In order to monitor and detect red tide effectively and provide insights into its initiation and maintenance mechanisms, the integration of multiple platforms is required. The case study presented here demonstrated the benefit of combing satellite observations and numerical models for studying red tide outbreaks and dynamics.     

Study of 19-year Satellite Sea Surface Temperature Variability along the West Coast of India

The seasonal and interannual variation of upwelling along the west coast of India between 8°N and 24°N was studied for the period 1985 through 2003 using NOAA-AVHRR sea surface temperature data. The seasonal migration of pronounced upwelling, which follows the seasonal shift of the winds in southwest monsoon period and northeast monsoon, was confined. The temporal mean sea surface temperature images clearly show the upwelling season, as does the seasonal sea surface temperature anomaly. These dominate features of the upwelling system are also the most variable, with most of the variance being explained by the seasonal cycle. Quasi-cyclic behavior of seas surface temperature on interannual scales has also been observed.     

东海和南黄海夏季环流的斜压模式

基于拉格朗日余流及其输运过程的一种三维空间弱非线性理论，引进了黑潮边界力及长江径流，给出了东海和南黄海的夏季环流及上升流区的分布。计算结果表明：在黑潮西侧存在着台湾－对马暖流系统；进入朝鲜海峡的对马暖流来自台湾暖流、黑潮、东海混合水和西朝鲜沿岸流；黄海暖流主要来源于东海混合水，表面有部分来自对马暖流；闽浙沿岸存在上升流区且构成一带状区域；在长江口外、东海东北部和陆坡上也存在在上升流式；陆坡处上升流     

风对福建中部沿岸春、夏季水文结构和上升流的影响

本文对台湾海峡西侧海坛岛附近海域风情与附近岸站的风情进行了对比分析,结果表明,海上风情和岸站风情变化基本上是一致的;在不同季风的作用下,海域温、盐度呈现不同类型的分布。风情的短期变化对上升流的强弱变化有一定影响。     

Effect of Salinity and Currents on Sea Level Variation Along the Indian Coast: A Numerical Study

The process of upwelling/sinking and associated sea level variations are seen as a response of coastal ocean to pure wind stress forcing. Further,precipitation and monsoonal floods, apart from the marine meteorological parameters, are expected to influence the sea level fluctuations along the coast. This study comprises determining the sea level from the various parameters together with the pure wind stress forcing, which is compared with the observed cycle. However, it is found that there is considerable difference between the computations and observations. This suggests that the sea level is dependent not just on the local forcing alone, but also on the induced background circulation as well. For example, the sea level changes along the east coast of India, particularly the northern region, are more sensitive to freshwater discharge from various rivers joining the Bay of Bengal. This is due to more frequently occurring pre- and postmonsoon cyclonic storms and the associated surges in the Bay of Bengal as compared to the Arabian Sea. Hence the salinity effects are particularly important in the coastal waters off the east coast of India during monsoon months (June-September). For the west coast of India, however, it is expected that the large-scale coastal circulation may play a role in determining sea level changes in addition to other forcings. The salinity effects are negligible along the west coast in the absence of any major river systems that join the Arabian Sea. The local advection currents caused by the offshore directed freshwater discharge from various estuaries joining the coastal bay also seemed to influence the sea level. In order to elucidate the essential dynamics involved and to study the effect of the remote forcing, a three-dimensional baroclinic, nonlinear numerical model is used with appropriate open boundary conditions. The local effect of the current has been incorporated in the west coast model by means of opening a channel at Cochin through which the rainwater is carried away to the model ocean. The low saline plume, cascading from north along the east cost of India, has been incorporated in the east coast model through a proper forcing applied at the northern boundary of the model. With the inclusion of these remote forcings in the models, the disagreement between the simulations and the observations is minimized.     

粤东-闽南沿岸海域上升流区软水母亚纲一新种和一新记录的记述

报道了2009年5月在粤东-闽南上升流区发现软水母亚纲（Leptomedusae Haeckel,1866）一新种,大腺触丝水母（Lovenella macrogonaLin,XuetHuang,sp.nov.）和我国海域一新记录,脆弱似杯水母[Phi-alella fragilis（Uchida,1938）].大腺触丝水母,新种的鉴别特征如下：伞半球形,外伞上有分散刺细胞,4个大的生殖腺,卵圆形,在辐管中部;4条主辐触手,触手球背部有块状黑色素,具有6~8对侧丝;4个大的间辐位缘疣,球形,具排泄乳突,背部有黑色素分布;24个平衡囊,每个平衡囊具1个平衡石.     

Inferring upwelling rates in the equatorial Atlantic using Be measurements in the upper ocean

Ocean upwelling rates are difficult to measure because of the relatively small velocities involved, and therefore are typically inferred from indirect methods such as heat budget estimates or tracer observations. Here we present the first results using a novel technique, based on the isotope ⁷Be, to infer rates of upwelling along the equator. Beryllium-7 (half-life=53.3 d) is a cosmic-ray produced radioactive nuclide that is deposited by rainfall upon the ocean surface and subsequently enriched and homogenized within the mixed layer. Previous investigations have utilized the penetration of characteristically high mixed layer concentrations into the upper thermocline to trace ocean ventilation and subduction over seasonal timescales. Here, the tracer is used in a reverse sense; that is, the ⁷Be concentration in the usually ⁷Be-rich surface mixed layer will be diluted from penetration of ⁷Be “dead” water upwelled from below. This dilution provides a means to infer upwelling rates. Furthermore, with knowledge of upwelling rates, ⁷Be profiles can be used to constrain vertical diffusivity within the upper thermocline. These ideas were tested with samples collected during the Tropical Atlantic Climate Experiment (TACE) cruise (May 22-June 27, 2009). The observations indicated a nearly linear relationship between ⁷Be inventory and mixed layer temperature, as with increased upwelling, lower mixed layer temperatures correspond to greater ⁷Be dilution from depth. With this data, upwelling rates were estimated at a number of stations near the equator between 0°E and 30°W within and adjacent to the equatorial cold tongue. The derived upwelling rates ranged from 0 to 2.2 m/d, with maximum values found between the equator and 2°S. The corresponding K_z values derived for the upper thermocline were in the range 1-4×10⁻⁴ m²/s.     

Phytoplankton assemblages in the CoOP-WEST coastal upwelling area

Elevated levels of phytoplankton were observed at the Northern California coastal upwelling ecosystem studied as part of the CoOP-WEST project during monthly summer surveys in 2000, 2001 and 2002. The high concentrations of chlorophyll were made up mostly of larger cells; the phytoplankton communities that resulted were dominated by centric diatoms. The highest chlorophyll a concentrations were observed when large diatoms or small colony-forming species dominated the assemblages. In contrast, when smaller nano-flagellates and picoplankton were dominant, total chlorophyll a concentrations were over four or five-fold lower than when diatoms were prevalent, illustrating the importance of large diatoms to total phytoplankton biomass. Each year, when chlorophyll concentrations were greatest, Chaetoceros species created a Chaetoceros-dominated system. A few other genera contributed to the upwelling diatom community, mostly the centric diatoms Asterionella, Thalassiosira, Rhizosolenia (including Guinardia and Proboscia), and the pennate Nitzschia. These diatoms have been described in other coastal upwelling ecosystems, and at this study site form a functional group that are apparently well adapted to the high-nutrient, turbulent conditions that are typical of these coastal regions.     

Consequences of coastal upwelling events on physical and chemical patterns in the central Gulf of Finland (Baltic Sea)

The consequences of a coastal upwelling event on physical and chemical patterns were studied in the central Gulf of Finland. Weekly mapping of hydrographical and -chemical fields were carried out across the Gulf between Tallinn and Helsinki in July–August 2006. In each survey, vertical profiles of temperature and salinity were recorded at 27 stations and water samples for chemical analyses (PO₄³⁻, NO₂⁻+NO₃⁻) were collected at 14 stations along the transect. An ordinary distribution of hydrophysical and -chemical variables with the seasonal thermocline at the depths of 10–20 m was observed in the beginning of the measurements in July. Nutrient concentrations in the upper mixed layer were below the detection limit and nutriclines were located just below or in the lower part of the thermocline. In the first half of August, a very intense upwelling event occurred near the southern coast of the Gulf when waters with low temperature and high salinity from the intermediate layer surfaced. High nutrient concentrations were measured in the upwelled water – 0.4 μmol l⁻¹ of phosphates and 0.6 μmol l⁻¹ of nitrates+nitrites. We estimated the amount of nutrients transported into the surface layer as 238–290 tons of phosphorus (P)-PO₄³⁻ and 175–255 tons of N-NO_x for a 12 m thick, 20 km wide and 100 km long coastal stretch. Taking into account a characteristic along-shore extension of the upwelling of 200 km, the phosphate-phosphorus amount is approximately equal to the average total monthly riverine load of phosphorus to the Gulf of Finland. It is shown that TS-characteristics of water masses and vertical distribution of nutrients along the study transect experienced drastic changes caused by the upwelling event in the entire studied water column. TS-analysis of profiles obtained before and during the upwelling event suggests that while welled up, the cold intermediate layer water was mixed with the water from the upper mixed layer with a share of 85% and 15%. We suggest that the coastal upwelling events contribute remarkably to the vertical mixing of waters in the Gulf of Finland. Intrusions of nutrient-rich waters along the inclined isopycnal surfaces in the vicinity of upwelling front were revealed. The upwelling event widened the separation of phosphocline and nitracline which in turn prevented surfacing of nitrate+nitrite-nitrogen during the next upwelling event observed a week after the upwelling relaxation. A suggestion is made that such widening of nutricline separation caused by similar upwelling events in early summer could create favourable conditions for late summer cyanobacterial blooms.     

Influence of the turbulence closure scheme on the finite-element simulation of the upwelling in the wake of a shallow-water island

A three-dimensional finite-element model is used to investigate the tidal flow around Rattray Island, Great Barrier Reef, Australia. Field measurements and visual observations show both stable eddies developing at rising and falling tide in the wake of the island. The water turbidity suggests intense upwelling able to carry bed sediments upwards. Based on previous numerical studies, it remains unclear at this point whether the most intense upwelling occurs near the centre of the eddies or off the island's tips, closer to the island. All these studies resorted to a very simple turbulence closure, with a zero-equation model whereby the coefficient of vertical viscosity is computed via an algebraic expression. In this work, we aim at studying the influence of the turbulence closure on model results, with emphasis on the prediction of vertical motions. The Mellor and Yamada level 2.5 closure scheme is used and an increase in the intensity of vertical transport is observed. This increase is partly explained by the fact that the Mellor and Yamada model takes into account the hysteresis effect in the time variation of turbulence variables. The influence of the advection of turbulence variables is estimated to be negligible. By a better representation of transient coastal phenomena, the Mellor and Yamada level 2.5 turbulence closure improves the model to a significant degree.