Chlorophyll increases off the coasts of Japan after the 2011 Tsunami using NASA/MODIS data

Abstract

Abstract. Large chlorophyll anomalies are observed after the 2011 Japanese tsunami using the NASA MODIS instrument onboard the TERRA and AQUA satellites. These anomalies are observed both along the Eastern coast of Japan, where the tsunami wave hit with maximum force, and in the deep water surrounding the epicentral region. Although both satellites show agreeing spatio-temporal patterns, larger anomalies are detected using the AQUA satellite. A temporal analysis shows increased chlorophyll concentrations immediately after the tsunami, and higher values are observed for nearly 1 month before reversing to pre-tsunami levels.

Threshold indicators of primary production in the north-east Atlantic for assessing environmental disturbances using 21 years of satellite ocean colour

“…Field fertilization experiments in the Southern Ocean, which is limited by the availability of dissolved iron, clearly demonstrated an increase in ocean colour Chl a visible from space (Boyd et al, 2007;Zhang et al, 2021). The effects of large Ocean tsunamis are observable from satellite data with a concomitant increase in the ocean colour Chl a soon after (Sarangi, 2011;Sava et al, 2014). The recent unprecedented and devastating forest fires in Australia from September 2019 to March 2020 similarly caused a tractable signature in Chl a (Wang et al, 2022) and productivity (Tang et al, 2021).…”