Ocean Temperature and Color Frontal Zones in the Gulf of Mexico: Where, When, and Why

Zhang, Yingjun; Hu, Chuanmin

doi:10.1029/2021jc017544

Cited by 11 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 142 publications

(288 reference statements)

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“…During summer, river plume waters from the Mississippi–Atchafalaya River system can extend southeastward (e.g., da Silva and Castelao, 2018; Zhang & Hu, 2021), and their interactions with the LC and associated LCEs contribute to the transport of nutrient‐rich waters offshore, where they mix with oligotrophic waters (Damien et al., 2018; Green et al., 2014; Hu et al., 2005; Nababan et al., 2011; Pasqueron de Fommervault et al., 2017). Such a transport plays an important role in the redistribution of biota and nutrients critical to the GoM ecosystem with significant biological and chemical impacts (Brokaw et al., 2019; Schiller & Kourafalou, 2014).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Bio‐Optical, Physical, and Chemical Properties of a Loop Current Eddy in the Gulf of Mexico

Zhang

Barnes

et al. 2023

JGR Oceans

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The Gulf of Mexico (GoM, Figure 1) is a semi-enclosed sea, in which the surface circulation is dominated by the Loop Current (LC) system, that is, the LC, LC Eddies (LCEs), and other LC frontal eddies (Sturges and Lugo-Fernandez, 2005). These features are the major factors affecting the GoM's mesoscale variability (Androulidakis et al., 2014). The GoM connects the Caribbean Sea through the Yucatan Channel (YC), and the Atlantic Ocean through the Straits of Florida (SoF, Figure 1). The LC is highly dynamic and strong, with peak speed ranging from 1.5 to 1.8 m/s (Oey et al., 2005). The LC system may have complicated spatial patterns (Liu et al., 2016). Depending on the position of the LC extension within the GoM, it may undergo three stages (Figure 1). Sometimes the LC flows directly from the YC to the SoF with a restricted northward penetration (at ∼24°N; magenta curve with arrows in Figure 1), this stage is often referred to "port-to-port" stage

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Bio‐Optical, Physical, and Chemical Properties of a Loop Current Eddy in the Gulf of Mexico

Zhang

Barnes

et al. 2023

JGR Oceans

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“…Many studies have demonstrated a connection between oceanographic features, such as fronts, eddies and currents, and the life cycles of marine migratory species [24,36,51].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Current strength (i.e., absolute current) and current direction were calculated using the u and v vector components. To explore the potential relationship between the ocean frontal features and turtle time at surface, we analyzed the dataset describing ocean color and thermal frontal zones in the Gulf of Mexico [24]. The dataset was generated by applying a gradient-based front detection algorithm [44] to the daily MODIS/Aqua SST and color index (CI) [45] measurements between 2002 and 2019.…”

Section: Environmental and Oceanographic Variablesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Its spatial and temporal resolutions are 9 km and weekly, respectively. In the weekly maps, each location is described by its mean frontal gradient magnitude (FGM); more details on this dataset can be found in Zhang and Hu [24]. The FGM value corresponding to each turtle data record (latitude, longitude, date) was extracted and analyzed with other turtle-relevant data.…”

Section: Environmental and Oceanographic Variablesmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The Influence of Satellite-Derived Environmental and Oceanographic Parameters on Marine Turtle Time at Surface in the Gulf of Mexico

et al. 2022

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The aftermath of the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill highlighted the lack of baseline spatial, behavioral, and abundance data for many species, including imperiled marine turtles, across the Gulf of Mexico. The ecology of marine turtles is closely tied to their vertical movements within the water column and is therefore critical knowledge for resource management in a changing ocean. A more comprehensive understanding of diving behavior, specifically surface intervals, can improve the accuracy of density and abundance estimates by mitigating availability bias. Here, we focus on the proportion of time marine turtles spend at the top 2 m of the water column to coincide with depths where turtles are assumed visible to observers during aerial surveys. To better understand what environmental and oceanographic conditions influence time at surface, we analyzed dive and spatial data from 136 satellite tags attached to three species of threatened or endangered marine turtles across 10 years. We fit generalized additive models with 11 remotely sensed covariates, including sea surface temperature (SST), bathymetry, and salinity, to examine dive patterns. Additionally, the developed model is the first to explicitly examine the potential connection between turtle dive patterns and ocean frontal zones in the Gulf of Mexico. Our results show species-specific associations of environmental covariates related to increased time at surface, particularly for depth, salinity, and frontal features. We define seasonal and spatial variation in time-at-surface patterns in an effort to contribute to marine turtle density and abundance estimates. These estimates could then be utilized to generate correction factors for turtle detection availability during aerial surveys.

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“…The daily 1 km SST data collected by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) onboard the Aqua and Terra 3 https://www.fio.usf.edu/services/rv-weatherbird/ 4 https://www.aoml.noaa.gov/phod/gdp/ 5 https://www.aoml.noaa.gov/phod/gdp/interpolated/data/all.php satellites were downloaded from the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. 6 Because the GoM and SoF become nearly isothermal and make it difficult to use SST imagery to detect eddies and fronts during summer months (e.g., Liu et al, 2011a;Zhang and Hu, 2021), only two MODIS SST snapshots on May 9th and 10th, 2017 are used to reveal the eddy signal on SST imagery. Daily 1 km MODIS/Aqua (MODIS/A) Chl data products from April 9 to August 12, 2017 were derived through using the methods described in Hu (2011) and Chen et al (2019).…”

Section: Satellite Observationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Physical Characteristics and Evolution of a Long-Lasting Mesoscale Cyclonic Eddy in the Straits of Florida

Zhang

Kourafalou

et al. 2022

Front. Mar. Sci.

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Ocean eddies along the Loop Current (LC)/Florida Current (FC) front have been studied for decades, yet studies of the entire evolution of individual eddies are rare. Here, satellite altimetry and ocean color observations, Argo profiling float records and shipborne acoustic Doppler current profiler (ADCP) measurements, together with high-resolution simulations from the global Hybrid Coordinate Ocean Model (HYCOM) are used to investigate the physical and biochemical properties, 3-dimensional (3-D) structure, and evolution of a long-lasting cyclonic eddy (CE) in the Straits of Florida (SoF) along the LC/FC front during April–August 2017. An Angular Momentum Eddy Detection Algorithm (AMEDA) is used to detect and track the CE during its evolution process. The long-lasting CE is found to form along the eastern edge of the LC on April 9th, and remained quasi-stationary for about 3 months (April 23 to July 15) off the Dry Tortugas (DT) until becoming much smaller due to its interaction with the FC and topography. This frontal eddy is named a Tortugas Eddy (TE) and is characterized with higher Chlorophyll (Chl) and lower temperature than surrounding waters, with a mean diameter of ∼100 km and a penetrating depth of ∼800 m. The mechanisms that contributed to the growth and evolution of this long-lasting TE are also explored, which reveal the significant role of oceanic internal instability.

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Ocean Temperature and Color Frontal Zones in the Gulf of Mexico: Where, When, and Why

Abstract: Ocean fronts are narrow zones of large horizontal gradients of physical, chemical, and biological properties (e.g., temperature, salinity, nutrients, etc.) that are located between different water bodies (Belkin, 2002;

Cited by 11 publications

References 142 publications

Bio‐Optical, Physical, and Chemical Properties of a Loop Current Eddy in the Gulf of Mexico

Bio‐Optical, Physical, and Chemical Properties of a Loop Current Eddy in the Gulf of Mexico

The Influence of Satellite-Derived Environmental and Oceanographic Parameters on Marine Turtle Time at Surface in the Gulf of Mexico

Physical Characteristics and Evolution of a Long-Lasting Mesoscale Cyclonic Eddy in the Straits of Florida

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