Mathematics – Logic
Scientific paper
May 2011
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2011georl..3809601h&link_type=abstract
Geophysical Research Letters, Volume 38, Issue 9, CiteID L09601
Mathematics
Logic
Oceanography: General: Marine Pollution (0345, 0478), Oceanography: General: Ocean Observing Systems, Oceanography: General: Remote Sensing And Electromagnetic Processes (0689, 2487, 3285, 4455, 6934), Oceanography: General: Instruments And Techniques, Oceanography: General: Descriptive And Regional Oceanography
Scientific paper
Assessment of direct and indirect impacts of oil and dispersants on the marine ecosystem in the northeastern Gulf of Mexico (NEGOM) from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill (April - July 2010) requires sustained observations over multiple years. Here, using satellite measurements, numerical circulation models, and other environmental data, we present some initial results on observed biological changes at the base of the food web. MODIS fluorescence line height (FLH, a proxy for phytoplankton biomass) shows two interesting anomalies. The first is statistically significant (>1 mg m-3 of chlorophyll-a anomaly), in an area exceeding 11,000 km2 in the NEGOM during August 2010, about 3 weeks after the oil well was capped. FLH values in this area are higher (i.e., water is greener) than in any August since 2002, and higher than ever since 2002 in an area of ˜3,000 km2. Analyses of ocean circulation and other environmental data suggest that this anomaly may be attributed to the oil spill. The second is a spatially coherent FLH anomaly during December 2010 and January 2011, extending from Mobile Bay to the Florida Keys (mainly between 30 and 100-m isobaths). This anomaly appears to have resulted from unusually strong upwelling and mixing events during late fall. Available data are insufficient to support or reject a hypothesis that the subsurface oil may have contributed to the enhanced biomass during December 2010 and January 2011.
Daly Kendra L.
English David C.
Hu Chuanmin
Liu Yonggang
Vargo Gabriel A.
No associations
LandOfFree
Did the northeastern Gulf of Mexico become greener after the Deepwater Horizon oil spill? does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this scientific paper.
If you have personal experience with Did the northeastern Gulf of Mexico become greener after the Deepwater Horizon oil spill?, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Did the northeastern Gulf of Mexico become greener after the Deepwater Horizon oil spill? will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFWR-SCP-O-926767