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JPR Advance Access published online on June 5, 2007
Journal of Plankton Research, doi:10.1093/plankt/fbm050
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© The Author 2007. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org

Possible Biogeochemical response to the passage of Hurricane Fabian observed by satellites

SeungHyun Son1,*, Trevor Platt2, Cesar Fuentes-Yaco2, Heather Bouman4, Emmanuel Devred2, Yongsheng Wu2 and Shubha Sathyendranath2,4

1 IMSG at National Environmental Satellite, Data and Information Service, NOAA Science Center, Camp Springs, MD 20746, USA 2 Coastal Ocean Science, Bedford Institute of Oceanography, Dartmouth, NS, Canada 3 Programa Regional de Oceanografia Físíca y Clima, Universidad de Concepción, Concepción, Chile 4 Plymouth Marine Laboratory, Prospect Place, The Hoe, Plymouth PL1 3DH, UK

* Email: seunghyun.son{at}noaa.gov

Received on February 12, 2007; revised on April 12, 2007; accepted on May 24, 2007


  Abstract

Physical and biogeochemical changes induced by the Hurricane Fabian in the Northwest Atlantic in early September 2003 were observed using composite satellite images. After the passage of the hurricane, the mean sea-surface temperature along the track decreased on average by about 1.3°C with maximum decrease of 10°C. At the same time, the mean chlorophyll-a concentration increased by about 42%. Entrainment of cold, nutrient-rich waters by vertical mixing induced by the hurricane seems to have enhanced the phytoplankton production. Asymmetric distribution of changes in SST and chlorophyll-a (strong intensity in the right side of the storm track) were observed from the satellite data. The storm-induced nitrate increase estimated from the satellite SST, using a local relationship between nitrate and temperature measurements, was about 40% on average along the track of the storm. A numerical model study and climatological nutrient profile showed an increase of mixed-layer depth of 26 meters and nitrate increase of about 0.2 µmol L–1 after the storm passage. In addition to altering the physicochemical conditions of the water column, physical forcing by the hurricane also changed the taxonomic composition of phytoplankton. It is inferred that the dominance of diatoms after the storm is a result of the increase in nutrient concentration within the mixed layer due to the wind forcing of the storm.

Key Words: Hurricane • Ocean colour • Biogeochemical response • Chlorophyll • Nutrients

Communicating Editor: K.J. Flynn


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