Ocean Color Image Sequences Reveal Diurnal Changes in Water Column Stability Driven by Air–Sea Interactions
The southward propagation of cold-air frontal boundaries into the Gulf of Mexico region initiates a cascade of coupled air–sea processes that manifests along the coastlines as an apparent brightness anomaly in the ocean color signals. Our hypothesis is that the color anomaly is largely due to the tu...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2023-11-01
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| Series: | Journal of Marine Science and Engineering |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1312/11/11/2118 |
| _version_ | 1797458793256189952 |
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| author | Jason K. Jolliff Travis A. Smith Sherwin Ladner Ewa Jarosz Mark David Lewis Stephanie Anderson Sean McCarthy Adam Lawson |
| author_facet | Jason K. Jolliff Travis A. Smith Sherwin Ladner Ewa Jarosz Mark David Lewis Stephanie Anderson Sean McCarthy Adam Lawson |
| author_sort | Jason K. Jolliff |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The southward propagation of cold-air frontal boundaries into the Gulf of Mexico region initiates a cascade of coupled air–sea processes that manifests along the coastlines as an apparent brightness anomaly in the ocean color signals. Our hypothesis is that the color anomaly is largely due to the turbulent resuspension of sedimentary particles. Initially, there is significant wind-driven ocean turbulence as the frontal boundary passes, followed by the potential for sustained convective instability due to significant heat losses from the ocean surface. These cold front events occur during boreal autumn, winter, and into early spring, and the latter episodes occur in the context of the seasonally recurring thermal stratification of shelf waters. Here, we show that as stratification reasserts thermal stability in the waning days of a cold front episode, daily to hourly ocean color patterns are temporally coherent with the air–sea heat flux changes and the resulting impact on water column stability. Concomitant results from a nested, data-assimilative, and two-way coupled ocean-atmosphere numerical modeling system provides both corroboration and insight into how surface air–sea fluxes and in-water turbulent mixing manifest as hourly changes in apparent surface water turbidity due to the potential excitation and settling of reflective particles. A simple model of particle mixing and settling driven by the simulated turbulence mimics patterns seen in the satellite image sequences. This study offers a preview of potential application areas that may emerge following the launch of a dedicated ocean color geostationary sensor. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T16:42:18Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-9e0d2922403a48a989be0e10736ec109 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2077-1312 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T16:42:18Z |
| publishDate | 2023-11-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of Marine Science and Engineering |
| spelling | doaj.art-9e0d2922403a48a989be0e10736ec1092023-11-24T14:50:29ZengMDPI AGJournal of Marine Science and Engineering2077-13122023-11-011111211810.3390/jmse11112118Ocean Color Image Sequences Reveal Diurnal Changes in Water Column Stability Driven by Air–Sea InteractionsJason K. Jolliff0Travis A. Smith1Sherwin Ladner2Ewa Jarosz3Mark David Lewis4Stephanie Anderson5Sean McCarthy6Adam Lawson7Naval Research Laboratory, Stennis Space Center, MS 39529, USANaval Research Laboratory, Stennis Space Center, MS 39529, USANaval Research Laboratory, Stennis Space Center, MS 39529, USANaval Research Laboratory, Stennis Space Center, MS 39529, USANaval Research Laboratory, Stennis Space Center, MS 39529, USANaval Research Laboratory, Stennis Space Center, MS 39529, USANaval Research Laboratory, Stennis Space Center, MS 39529, USANaval Research Laboratory, Stennis Space Center, MS 39529, USAThe southward propagation of cold-air frontal boundaries into the Gulf of Mexico region initiates a cascade of coupled air–sea processes that manifests along the coastlines as an apparent brightness anomaly in the ocean color signals. Our hypothesis is that the color anomaly is largely due to the turbulent resuspension of sedimentary particles. Initially, there is significant wind-driven ocean turbulence as the frontal boundary passes, followed by the potential for sustained convective instability due to significant heat losses from the ocean surface. These cold front events occur during boreal autumn, winter, and into early spring, and the latter episodes occur in the context of the seasonally recurring thermal stratification of shelf waters. Here, we show that as stratification reasserts thermal stability in the waning days of a cold front episode, daily to hourly ocean color patterns are temporally coherent with the air–sea heat flux changes and the resulting impact on water column stability. Concomitant results from a nested, data-assimilative, and two-way coupled ocean-atmosphere numerical modeling system provides both corroboration and insight into how surface air–sea fluxes and in-water turbulent mixing manifest as hourly changes in apparent surface water turbidity due to the potential excitation and settling of reflective particles. A simple model of particle mixing and settling driven by the simulated turbulence mimics patterns seen in the satellite image sequences. This study offers a preview of potential application areas that may emerge following the launch of a dedicated ocean color geostationary sensor.https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1312/11/11/2118ocean colorcoastal oceanographyair–sea interactionsturbiditysatellite oceanography |
| spellingShingle | Jason K. Jolliff Travis A. Smith Sherwin Ladner Ewa Jarosz Mark David Lewis Stephanie Anderson Sean McCarthy Adam Lawson Ocean Color Image Sequences Reveal Diurnal Changes in Water Column Stability Driven by Air–Sea Interactions Journal of Marine Science and Engineering ocean color coastal oceanography air–sea interactions turbidity satellite oceanography |
| title | Ocean Color Image Sequences Reveal Diurnal Changes in Water Column Stability Driven by Air–Sea Interactions |
| title_full | Ocean Color Image Sequences Reveal Diurnal Changes in Water Column Stability Driven by Air–Sea Interactions |
| title_fullStr | Ocean Color Image Sequences Reveal Diurnal Changes in Water Column Stability Driven by Air–Sea Interactions |
| title_full_unstemmed | Ocean Color Image Sequences Reveal Diurnal Changes in Water Column Stability Driven by Air–Sea Interactions |
| title_short | Ocean Color Image Sequences Reveal Diurnal Changes in Water Column Stability Driven by Air–Sea Interactions |
| title_sort | ocean color image sequences reveal diurnal changes in water column stability driven by air sea interactions |
| topic | ocean color coastal oceanography air–sea interactions turbidity satellite oceanography |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1312/11/11/2118 |
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