C. Wayne Wright

Hurricanes 2004: An Overview of Their Characteristics and Coastal Change

Four hurricanes battered the state of Florida during 2004, the most affecting any state since Texas endured four in 1884. Each of the storms changed the coast differently. Average shoreline change within the right front quadrant of hurricane force winds varied from 1 m of shoreline advance to 20 m of retreat, whereas average sand volume change varied from 11 to 66 m3 m−1 of net loss (erosion). These changes did not scale simply with hurricane intensity as described by the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale. The strongest storm of the season, category 4 Hurricane Charley, had the least shoreline retreat. This was likely because of other factors like the storms rapid forward speed and small size that generated a lower storm surge than expected. Two of the storms, Hurricanes Frances and Jeanne, affected nearly the same area on the Florida east coast just 3 wk apart. The first storm, Frances, although weaker than the second, caused greater shoreline retreat and sand volume erosion. As a consequence, Hurricane Frances may have stripped away protective beach and exposed dunes to direct wave attack during Jeanne, although there was significant dune erosion during both storms. The maximum shoreline change for all four hurricanes occurred during Ivan on the coasts of eastern Alabama and the Florida Panhandle. The net volume change across a barrier island within the Ivan impact zone approached zero because of massive overwash that approximately balanced erosion of the beach. These data from the 2004 hurricane season will prove useful in developing new ways to scale and predict coastal-change effects during hurricanes.

Numerical simulations and observations of surface wave fields under an extreme tropical cyclone

Abstract The performance of the wave model WAVEWATCH III under a very strong, category 5, tropical cyclone wind forcing is investigated with different drag coefficient parameterizations and ocean current inputs. The model results are compared with field observations of the surface wave spectra from an airborne scanning radar altimeter, National Data Buoy Center (NDBC) time series, and satellite altimeter measurements in Hurricane Ivan (2004). The results suggest that the model with the original drag coefficient parameterization tends to overestimate the significant wave height and the dominant wavelength and produces a wave spectrum with narrower directional spreading. When an improved drag parameterization is introduced and the wave–current interaction is included, the model yields an improved forecast of significant wave height, but underestimates the dominant wavelength. When the hurricane moves over a preexisting mesoscale ocean feature, such as the Loop Current in the Gulf of Mexico or a warm- and co...

Airborne lidar detection of subsurface oceanic scattering layers

The airborne lidar detection and cross-sectional mapping of submerged oceanic scattering layers are reported. The field experiment was conducted in the Atlantic Ocean southeast of Assateague Island, VA. NASAs Airborne Oceanographic Lidar was operated in the bathymetric mode to acquire on-wavelength 532-nm depth-resolved backscatter signals from shelf/slope waters. Unwanted laser pulse reflection from the airwater interface was minimized by spatial filtering and off-nadir operation. The presence of thermal stratification over the shelf was verified by the deployment of airborne expendable bathythermographs. Optical beam transmission measurements acquired from a surface truthing vessel indicated the presence of a layer of turbid water near the sea floor over the inner portion of the shelf.

Satellite retrieval of inherent optical properties by inversion of an oceanic radiance model: a preliminary algorithm.

A previously published radiance model inversion theory has been field tested by using airborne water-leaving radiances to retrieve the chromophoric dissolved organic matter (CDOM) and detritus absorption coefficient, the phytoplankton absorption coefficient, and the total backscattering coefficient. The radiance model inversion theory was tested for potential satellite use by comparing two of the retrieved inherent optical properties with concurrent airborne laser-derived truth data. It was found that (1) matrix inversion of water-leaving radiances is well conditioned even in the presence of instrument-induced noise, (2) retrieved CDOM and detritus and phytoplankton absorption coefficients are both in reasonable agreement with absorption coefficients derived from airborne laser-induced fluorescence spectral emissions, (3) the total backscattering retrieval magnitude and variability are consistent with expected values for the Middle Atlantic Bight, and (4) the algorithm performs reasonably well in Sargasso Sea, Gulf Stream, slope, and shelf waters but is less consistent in coastal waters.

Inherent optical properties imagery of the western North Atlantic Ocean: Horizontal spatial variability of the upper mixed layer

Until now, no satellite methods were available for the study of inherent optical properties (IOPs) over wide areas of the worlds oceans. Herein the coefficients of phytoplankton absorption, chromophoric dissolved organic matter (CDOM)-detritus absorption, and total backscattering have been retrieved from Sea-viewing Wide Field-of-view Sensor (SeaWiFS) 412, 490, and 555 nm reflectances by linear matrix inversion of an oceanic radiance model. The retrieved phytoplankton absorption coefficient from an October 6, 1997, image of the Middle Atlantic Bight (MAB) reveals (1) characteristic patchiness over the shelf, slope, Gulf Stream, and Sargasso Sea, (2) a warm-core ring being encircled by a spiral streamer of phytoplankton-containing cooler shelf water, and (3) phytoplankton prominence at South Atlantic Bight capes and remarkable minima between the capes. The retrieved CDOM-detritus absorption coefficient image readily shows (1) the characteristic offshore 20× decline from ∼0.4 to 0.02−1, (2) a sharp drop at the Gulf Stream NW boundary, (3) striations of CDOM-detritus within the Gulf Stream, and (4) that during the fall, non-bloom season, the dominant absorbing constituent over the MAB continental shelf is not phytoplankton but CDOM-detritus. The retrieved total backscattering coefficient image shows a patchy depression over the middle to outer shelf (compared to the Gulf Stream and inner shelf). A feature common to all three inherent optical property images is the northeasterly extrusion of phytoplankton, CDOM-detritus, and other constituents from Cape Hatteras coastal/shelf water along a streamer adjacent to the Gulf Stream. No similar evidence of shelf water export was observed over the Diamond Shoals area south of Cape Hatteras where previous researchers have reported episodic offshore advection of shelf water. A second mechanism for carbon export can be seen in the New York Bight where a tongue of outflow from the Hudson River can be seen to cross the shelf and interact with the northern wall of a warm-core ring. A concurrent 150 m altitude airborne underflight with a calibrated ocean-viewing 256-channel spectroradiometer provided supplementary atmospheric correction to the SeaWiFS remote sensing reflectances and validation of the resulting SeaWiFS IOP retrievals. Simultaneous airborne lidar fluorescence was used to confirm further the SeaWiFS CDOM-detritus and phytoplankton absorption coefficient IOP retrievals. The results strongly suggest that if satisfactory atmospheric correction can eventually be achieved without airborne underflights, then the SeaWiFS data will readily allow global-scale IOP variability studies.

Next-generation NASA airborne oceanographic lidar system

The complete design and flight test of the next-generation Airborne Oceanographic Lidar (AOL-3) is detailed. The application of new technology has allowed major reductions in weight, volume, and power requirements compared with the earlier AOL sensor. Subsystem designs for the new AOL sensor include new technology in fiber optics, spectrometer detector optical train, miniature photomultiplier modules, dual-laser wavelength excitation from a single small laser source, and new receiver optical configuration. The new design reduced telescope size and maintained the same principal fluorescence and water Raman bands but essentially retained a comparable measurement accuracy. A major advancement is the implementation of single-laser simultaneous excitation of two physically separate oceanic target areas: one stimulated by 532 nm and the other by 355 nm. Backscattered fluorescence and Raman signals from both targets are acquired simultaneously by use of the same telescope and spectrometer-detector system. Two digital oscilloscopes provide temporal- and depth-resolved data from each of seven spectral emission bands.

Radiance-ratio algorithm wavelengths for remote oceanic chlorophyll determination.

Two-band radiance-ratio in-water algorithms in the visible spectrum have been evaluated for remote oceanic chlorophyll determination. Airborne active-passive (laser-solar) data from coastal, shelf-slope, and bluewater regions were used to generate 2-D chlorophyll-fluorescence and radiance-ratio statistical correlation matrices containing all possible two-band ratio combinations from the thirty-two available contiguous 11.25-nm passive bands. The principal finding was that closely spaced radiance-ratio bands yield chlorophyll estimates which are highly correlated with laser-induced chlorophyll fluorescence within several distinct regions of the ocean color spectrum. Band combinations in the yellow (~565/575-nm), orange-red (~675/685-nm), and red (~695/705-nm) spectral regions showed considerable promise for satisfactory chlorophyll pigment estimation in near-coastal Case II waters. Based on very limited data, pigment recovery in Case I waters was best accomplished using blue-green radiance ratios in the ~490/500-nm region.

Chlorophyll biomass in the global oceans: airborne lidar retrieval using fluorescence of both chlorophyll and chromophoric dissolved organic matter

For three decades airborne laser-induced fluorescence has demonstrated value for chlorophyll biomass retrieval in wide-area oceanic field experiments, satellite validation, and algorithm development. A new chlorophyll biomass retrieval theory is developed using laser-induced and water Raman normalized fluorescence of both (a) chlorophyll and (b) chromophoric dissolved organic matter (CDOM). This airborne lidar retrieval theory is then independently confirmed by chlorophyll biomass obtained from concurrent (1) ship-cruise retrievals, (2) satellite inherent optical property (IOP) biomass retrievals, and (3) satellite standard band-ratio chlorophyll biomass retrievals. The new airborne lidar chlorophyll and CDOM fluorescence-based chlorophyll biomass retrieval is found to be more robust than prior lidar methods that used chlorophyll fluorescence only. Future research is recommended to further explain the underlying influence of CDOM on chlorophyll production.

Chlorophyll biomass in the global oceans: satellite retrieval using inherent optical properties

In the upper layer of the global ocean, 2082 in situ chlorophyll biomass values (Chl) are retrieved by concurrent satellite-derived inherent optical properties (IOP). It is found that (1) the phytoplankton absorption coefficient IOP alone does not provide satisfactory (Chl) retrieval; (2) the chromophoric dissolved organic matter (CDOM) absorption coefficient IOP must also be used to obtain satisfactory retrieval through (Chl) alpha a ph + pa CDOM where p is a constant and a ph and aCDOM are, respectively, the phytoplankton and CDOM absorption coefficients; (3) the IOP-based (Chl) retrieval performance is comparable to standard satellite reflectance ratio retrievals (that have CDOM absorption intrinsically embedded within them); (4) inclusion of the total backscattering coefficient IOP does not contribute significantly to (Chl) retrieval; and (5) the new IOP-based algorithm may provide the possibility for future research to establish the actual role of extracellular CDOM from all sources in the intracellular production of chlorophyll biomass.

Fluorescence signatures of an iron-enriched phytoplankton community in the eastern equatorial Pacific Ocean

Laser-induced fluorescence profiles of chlorophyll and phycoerythrin pigments and chromophoric dissolved organic matter (CDOM) fluorescence acquired over an iron-enriched phytoplankton patch are compared to profiles made over adjacent, naturally occurring phytoplankton patches. A total of four airborne missions were flown during an 8 day period following the release of the iron-rich fertilizer. Analyses of the airborne laser-induced fluorescence profiles from the upper-ocean layer reveal: (1) Ship-dispersed iron enhances localized phytoplankton production in high-nutrient/low-chlorophyll regions such as found in the eastern equatorial Pacific Ocean. (2) The chlorophyll concentration within the iron-enriched phytoplankton patch exceeded levels of chlorophyll found in naturally occurring phytoplankton patches located outside the enriched region. (3) An increase in phycoerythrin fluorescence was observed within the enriched region in correspondence with the elevated chlorophyll fluorescence. However, the phycoerythrin/chlorophyll fluorescence ratio was lower within the enriched patch than in naturally occurring phytoplankton patches outside of the enriched region. (4) No above-background chromorophoric dissolved organic matter (CDOM) fluorescence was observed in the enriched patch. Elevated CDOM fluorescence was associated with some of the naturally occurring phytoplankton patches outside the enriched region, while other such phytoplankton patches showed no measurable increase in CDOM over background levels. (5) The surface layer manifestation of the patch was observed to be transported to the north and west in close agreement with the drogue positions. No elevated surface layer chlorophyll fluorescence was seen in the vicinity of the ship as it sampled the submerged fraction at the time of the 30 October and 1 November overflights. The phycoerythrin pigment fluorescence emission was insensitive to ambient cloud-induced downwelling irradiance variability, while at the same time the chlorophyll fluorescence displayed considerable quenching for which corrections were made using the airborne downwelling irradiance.