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Hurricane forcing on chlorophyll‐a concentration off the northeast coast of the U.S.
Author(s) -
Davis Amélie,
Yan XiaoHai
Publication year - 2004
Publication title -
geophysical research letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.007
H-Index - 273
eISSN - 1944-8007
pISSN - 0094-8276
DOI - 10.1029/2004gl020668
Subject(s) - seawifs , upwelling , oceanography , forcing (mathematics) , environmental science , chlorophyll a , continental shelf , tropical cyclone , climatology , chlorophyll , geology , phytoplankton , biology , nutrient , ecology , botany
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.