![]() ![]() In this project, we study the impact of oceanic processes and their observations on local ecosystems in the Gulf, with the specific goal of supporting ecosystem management. Evaluation of Gulf of Mexico oceanographic observation networks, impact assessment on ecosystem management and recommendations (NOAA RESTORE Act Science Program, -, M.TCHP represents the quantity of heat available in the ocean’s upper layer. Track of Hurricane Katrina (2005) overlaid on Tropical Cyclone Heat Potential (TCHP) conditions in the Gulf of Mexico on August 20, 2005. Currently, NOAA/AOML operates ocean gliders in the Atlantic hurricane region to detect the presence of warm waters that can influence hurricane evolution. For example, a Loop Current Ring was involved in the intensification of Hurricane Opal in 1995, and of Hurricane Katrina in 2005. This process is strengthened by the local ocean circulation inside the Gulf of Mexico, as the Loop Current and associated Rings are marked by a surface layer of warm waters that is thicker than in the rest of the Gulf. Every summer, the whole Gulf of Mexico is marked with high sea surface temperatures, which support the formation and presence of tropical storms and hurricanes. The large Chlorophyll-a values in red are associated with brackish waters from river origins.įinally, the Gulf of Mexico is also part of the North Atlantic warm pool that forms in summer. Surface Chlorophyll-a concentration (mg/m3) measured by MODIS satellite on August 7, 2015. The signature of the Mississippi River is visible in satellite ocean color products. ![]() ![]() This inflow affects the local dynamics and ecosystems of the northern Gulf of Mexico and beyond, as the brackish waters from the Mississippi River can sometimes be transported by the Loop Current as far as the Atlantic Ocean. Loop Current visible on Sea Surface Temperature observed by satellite (source: NOAA/AOML OceanViewer).Īnother fascinating feature of the Gulf of Mexico is the signature of the Mississippi River, one of the largest rivers in the world, which discharges gigantic amounts of fresh water and nutrients into the Gulf. AOML/PhOD has been at the frontline during that event to monitor and analyze ocean observations at the time. The Loop Current and the associated eddies at its edge played a critical role in the spreading of oil at the surface of the Gulf during the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in 2010. NOAA/AOML developed an index based on satellite data, that maps where the conditions are favorable for the presence of bluefin tuna larvae. The Loop Current system is a determining factor for the presence of bluefin tuna larvae. ![]() It is also usually associated with warm waters visible in Sea Surface Temperature. In particular, the Loop Current is associated with high sea surface height, measured by altimetry. The Loop Current and associated eddies are routinely monitored via satellite products. When the Loop Current is extended, it eventually sheds a large eddy, or Ring, which then drifts westward, whereas the Loop Current retracts to the south. The Loop Current is a fascinating ocean current, which changes extension with time: from a retracted, direct pathway between the Yucatan Channel at the southern entrance of the Gulf and its exit at the Straits of Florida, it slowly grows inside the eastern Gulf of Mexico, until its extension almost reaches the Mississippi Delta and forms a large loop (hence its name) before exiting the Gulf. The Loop Current indeed carries warm waters from the Caribbean Sea into the colder Gulf of Mexico, and then into the North Atlantic Ocean. The main dynamical feature of the Gulf of Mexico is the Loop Current, which is a portion, upstream of the Gulf Stream, of the North Atlantic western boundary current that carries ocean waters from the Tropics towards the high latitudes. The Gulf of Mexico is a semi-enclosed basin connected, to the south, to the Caribbean Sea, and to the North Atlantic Ocean to the east. ![]()
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