Premium
Hurricane Isabel generated an unusual fall bloom in Chesapeake Bay
Author(s) -
Miller W. David,
Harding Lawrence W.,
Adolf Jason E.
Publication year - 2006
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 - 10.1029/2005gl025658
Subject(s) - chesapeake bay , bloom , oceanography , environmental science , meteorology , climatology , geology , geography , estuary
Ocean color measurements from aircraft revealed an unusually strong fall bloom of phytoplankton in Chesapeake Bay after passage of Hurricane Isabel in September 2003. Flights conducted before (11 September) and after (24 September) Isabel showed a two‐fold increase of chlorophyll‐ a (Chl a ) covering ∼3000 km 2 of the mid‐ to lower Bay, with an abrupt return to long‐term average (LTA) Chl a by early October. Wind mixing induced rapid de‐stratification of the water column, injecting nitrogen (N) into the euphotic layer that supported a fall bloom of diatoms. Here we quantify a significant perturbation of the annual phytoplankton cycle in Chesapeake Bay, driven by Hurricane Isabel.