Ocean–Atmosphere Interactions during Hurricanes Marco and Laura (2020)
During August of the 2020 Atlantic Hurricane Season, the Gulf of Mexico (GoM) was affected by two subsequent storms, Hurricanes Marco and Laura. Hurricane Marco entered the GoM first (22 August) and was briefly promoted to a Category 1 storm. Hurricane Laura followed Marco closely (25 August) and at...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2021-05-01
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| Series: | Remote Sensing |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/13/10/1932 |
| _version_ | 1797533950028021760 |
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| author | Emily N. Eley Bulusu Subrahmanyam Corinne B. Trott |
| author_facet | Emily N. Eley Bulusu Subrahmanyam Corinne B. Trott |
| author_sort | Emily N. Eley |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | During August of the 2020 Atlantic Hurricane Season, the Gulf of Mexico (GoM) was affected by two subsequent storms, Hurricanes Marco and Laura. Hurricane Marco entered the GoM first (22 August) and was briefly promoted to a Category 1 storm. Hurricane Laura followed Marco closely (25 August) and attained Category 4 status after a period of rapid intensification. Typically, hurricanes do not form this close together; this study aims to explain the existence of both hurricanes through the analysis of air-sea fluxes, local thermodynamics, and upper-level circulation. The GoM and its quality of warm, high ocean heat content waters proved to be a resilient and powerful reservoir of heat and moisture fuel for both hurricanes; however, an area of lower ocean heat content due to circulation dynamics was crucial in the evolution of both Marco and Laura. An analysis of wind shear further explained the evolution of both hurricanes. Furthermore, a suite of satellite observations and ocean model outputs were used to evaluate the biophysical modulations in the GoM. The cold core eddy (CCE) and Mississippi River surface plume had the greatest biophysical oceanic responses; the oceanic modulations were initialized by Marco and extended temporally and spatially by Laura. Reduced sea surface temperatures (SST), changes in sea surface salinity (SSS), and changes in Chlorophyll-a (Chl-a) concentrations are related to translation speeds, and respective contributions of hurricane winds and precipitation are evaluated in this work. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T11:22:55Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-69abc2c9c32546988ecf17f96899d143 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2072-4292 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T11:22:55Z |
| publishDate | 2021-05-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Remote Sensing |
| spelling | doaj.art-69abc2c9c32546988ecf17f96899d1432023-11-21T19:52:58ZengMDPI AGRemote Sensing2072-42922021-05-011310193210.3390/rs13101932Ocean–Atmosphere Interactions during Hurricanes Marco and Laura (2020)Emily N. Eley0Bulusu Subrahmanyam1Corinne B. Trott2School of the Earth, Ocean and Environment, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC 29208, USASchool of the Earth, Ocean and Environment, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC 29208, USANaval Research Laboratory, Stennis Space Center, Mississippi, MS 39529, USADuring August of the 2020 Atlantic Hurricane Season, the Gulf of Mexico (GoM) was affected by two subsequent storms, Hurricanes Marco and Laura. Hurricane Marco entered the GoM first (22 August) and was briefly promoted to a Category 1 storm. Hurricane Laura followed Marco closely (25 August) and attained Category 4 status after a period of rapid intensification. Typically, hurricanes do not form this close together; this study aims to explain the existence of both hurricanes through the analysis of air-sea fluxes, local thermodynamics, and upper-level circulation. The GoM and its quality of warm, high ocean heat content waters proved to be a resilient and powerful reservoir of heat and moisture fuel for both hurricanes; however, an area of lower ocean heat content due to circulation dynamics was crucial in the evolution of both Marco and Laura. An analysis of wind shear further explained the evolution of both hurricanes. Furthermore, a suite of satellite observations and ocean model outputs were used to evaluate the biophysical modulations in the GoM. The cold core eddy (CCE) and Mississippi River surface plume had the greatest biophysical oceanic responses; the oceanic modulations were initialized by Marco and extended temporally and spatially by Laura. Reduced sea surface temperatures (SST), changes in sea surface salinity (SSS), and changes in Chlorophyll-a (Chl-a) concentrations are related to translation speeds, and respective contributions of hurricane winds and precipitation are evaluated in this work.https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/13/10/1932Hurricane Laura (2020)Hurricane Marco (2020)Gulf of MexicoeddiessalinitySMAP |
| spellingShingle | Emily N. Eley Bulusu Subrahmanyam Corinne B. Trott Ocean–Atmosphere Interactions during Hurricanes Marco and Laura (2020) Remote Sensing Hurricane Laura (2020) Hurricane Marco (2020) Gulf of Mexico eddies salinity SMAP |
| title | Ocean–Atmosphere Interactions during Hurricanes Marco and Laura (2020) |
| title_full | Ocean–Atmosphere Interactions during Hurricanes Marco and Laura (2020) |
| title_fullStr | Ocean–Atmosphere Interactions during Hurricanes Marco and Laura (2020) |
| title_full_unstemmed | Ocean–Atmosphere Interactions during Hurricanes Marco and Laura (2020) |
| title_short | Ocean–Atmosphere Interactions during Hurricanes Marco and Laura (2020) |
| title_sort | ocean atmosphere interactions during hurricanes marco and laura 2020 |
| topic | Hurricane Laura (2020) Hurricane Marco (2020) Gulf of Mexico eddies salinity SMAP |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/13/10/1932 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT emilyneley oceanatmosphereinteractionsduringhurricanesmarcoandlaura2020 AT bulususubrahmanyam oceanatmosphereinteractionsduringhurricanesmarcoandlaura2020 AT corinnebtrott oceanatmosphereinteractionsduringhurricanesmarcoandlaura2020 |