Haigang Zhan

Seasonality of biological feedbacks on sea surface temperature variations in the Arabian Sea: The role of mixing and upwelling

The effects of biological heating on upper-ocean temperature and circulation in the Arabian Sea are investigated using an ocean general circulation model. We find that the change of sea surface temperature (SST) is not only dependent on the variation of chlorophyll concentration, but also the dynamic processes, e.g., mixing and upwelling. Biological heating can warm the SST in the north Arabian Sea during spring and the central Arabian Sea during autumn when the mixed layer depth is shallow. However, the situation is quite different during winter and summer. Although the chlorophyll concentration is high in the north Arabian Sea during winter and in the western Arabian Sea during summer, the SSTs become significantly cool instead of warm. The heat budget analyses indicate that the cold SSTs result from both the strong convective mixing during the winter and the strong upwelling during the summer, which bring the cold water below the mixed layer to the surface.

Numerical study of the effects of ocean color on the sea surface temperature in the southeast tropical Indian Ocean: the role of the barrier layer

The effects of biological heating on upper ocean temperatures in the southern tropical Indian Ocean region during the boreal summer were investigated by comparing the results of two modeling experiments using a solar radiation penetration scheme with and without chlorophyll effects. During the southeastern monsoon season, an increase in the chlorophyll concentration leads to cold anomalies off Java but warm anomalies off Sumatra. This contradictory effect is primarily caused by the difference in the barrier layer (BL) thickness in the two regions. Although the increasing phytoplankton tends to warm the surface and cool the subsurface in both regions, the existence of a thick BL in the region off Sumatra prevents cold anomalies from reaching the surface mixed layer (ML), whereas the thin BL off Java is favorable for the upwelling of cold subsurface anomalies into the surface ML, nullifying the warming effect of the increasing chlorophyll concentration.

Summertime phytoplankton blooms and surface cooling in the western south equatorial Indian Ocean

Chlorophyll-a (Chla) concentration derived from the Sea viewing Wide field of View sensor (SeaWiFS) data (January 1998 to December 2010) shows phytoplankton blooms in the western south equatorial Indian Ocean (WSEIO) during the summer monsoon. The mechanism that sustains the blooms is investigated with the high-resolution Ocean General Circulation Model for the Earth Simulator (OFES) products. The summer blooms in the WSEIO are separated from the coast; they occur in June, reach their maximum in August, and decay in October. With summer monsoon onset, cross-equatorial wind induces open-ocean upwelling in the WSEIO, uplifting the nutricline. The mixed layer heat budget analysis reveals that both thermal forcing and ocean processes are important for the seasonal variations of SST, especially wind-driven entrainment plays a significant role in cooling the WSEIO. These processes cause nutrient enrichment in the surface layer and trigger the phytoplankton blooms. As the summer monsoon develops, the strong wind deepens the mixed layer; the entrainment thus increases the nutrient supply and enhances the bloom. Horizontal advection associated with the Southern Gyre might also be an important process that sustains the bloom. This large clockwise gyre could advect nutrient-rich water along its route, allowing Chla to bloom in a larger area.

Effects of chlorophyll on upper ocean temperature and circulation in the upwelling regions of the South China Sea

The effects of chlorophyll on upper ocean temperature and circulation in the two upwelling regions of the South China Sea are investigated by comparing results of two experiments using the solar radiation penetration scheme with and without the effects of chlorophyll. In boreal winter, the sea surface temperature anomalies were negligible with the existence of chlorophyll throughout most of the South China Sea because of the deep mixed layer. The strong mixing stirred by surface winds brings the cold water into the mixed layer and cancels out heating due to the effect of chlorophyll. In boreal summer, the high chlorophyll concentration in the upwelling region southeast of Vietnam cools the upwelling water below the mixed layer and leads to lower sea surface temperatures. The present study confirms the processes proposed by previous studies in the equatorial Pacific that indicate that the mixed layer depth is important to the response of the surface temperature and current to biological heating.

Phytoplankton bloom triggered by an anticyclonic eddy: The combined effect of eddy-Ekman pumping and winter mixing

Recent composite based researches reveal that anticyclonic eddies facilitate the growth of phytoplankton in the subtropical gyres. Two dynamical mechanisms, eddy-Ekman pumping and winter mixing, have been examined individually, but their relative and combined effects remain unclear. Using satellite observations and model simulations, this study investigated the process of a distinct phytoplankton bloom generated in an anticyclonic eddy in the nutrient-depleted southeastern Indian Ocean. The bloom propagated westward along with the eddy for more than 600 km from late April to August in 2010. The peak of surface chlorophyll concentration in the eddy is 2.2 times larger than the mean value of the ambient. The development of the bloom is dominated by the winter deepening of mixed layer, whose velocity in vertical nutrient flux is on average 3 times larger than that of eddy-Ekman pumping. The results of a 1-D physical-biogeochemical model demonstrate that the role of eddy-Ekman pumping is also indispensable, because it not only transports extra nutrients into the mixed layer, but also results in significant chlorophyll enrichment in subsurface water. The superposition of eddy-Ekman pumping on winter mixing triples the chlorophyll both at the surface and in the upper layer, and the entrainment of subsurface phytoplankton into the mixed layer contributes significantly to the surface bloom, especially in its initial stage. Both the satellite observations and model simulation show that eddy-Ekman pumping can lead to an early occurrence of the bloom for more than 2 weeks.

Potential new production in two upwelling regions of the western Arabian Sea: Estimation and comparison

Using satellite-derived and in situ data, the wind-driven potential new production (nitrate supply) for the 300 km wide coastal band in two upwelling regions of the western Arabian Sea (AS) during the southwest monsoon is estimated. The upward nitrate flux to the euphotic zone is generally based on the physical processes of coastal transport (Ekman transport and geostrophic transport) and offshore Ekman pumping. The coastal geostrophic current in the western AS influences the upwelling intensity and latitudinal distributions of nitrate supply. The Oman and Somalia upwelling regions have similar level of potential new production (nitrate supply) during the summer monsoon, while the satellite estimates of primary production off Oman are 2 times greater than those off Somalia. The much higher potential f-ratio in the Somalia upwelling region indicates that the primary production could be limited by availability of other macronutrients (e.g., silicate). The correlation analysis of the primary production and the aerosol optical thickness shows that the Oman upwelling region displays a stronger coupling between the atmospheric deposition and the phytoplankton abundance. The high summertime dust levels in the atmosphere are suggested to contribute to the high primary production in the Oman upwelling region.

Effects of the interannual variability in chlorophyll concentrations on sea surface temperatures in the east tropical Indian Ocean

The effects of interannual variability in chlorophyll concentrations on sea surface temperatures in the east tropical Indian Ocean (ETIO) during two positive Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD) events (in the boreal fall of 1997 and 2006) are investigated; this is done through two ocean model experiments, one with and one without the interannual variability of chlorophyll concentrations. A comparison of the two chlorophyll perturbation experiments reveals that, in contrast to the cooling effects at the seasonal timescale, increased chlorophyll concentrations during positive IOD events leads to an increase in the sea surface temperatures within the ETIO. Although upward velocity is enhanced (with a cooling effect), this does not counterbalance the increase in solar heating caused by the increased chlorophyll concentrations. This interannual variability of chlorophyll concentrations in the ETIO could reduce the amplitude of the IOD by about 6%. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

Wintertime Phytoplankton Blooms in the Western Equatorial Indian Ocean Associated With the Madden-Julian Oscillation: WINTERTIME BLOOMS IN WEIO

This study investigated boreal wintertime phytoplankton blooms in the western equatorial Indian Ocean (WEIO) and the underlying physical mechanisms. The Sea viewing Wide field of View sensor (SeaWiFS) chlorophyll-a (Chla) concentrations show that phytoplankton blooms occur in the WEIO during December-March. The development of these blooms is not only a seasonal process but also consists of 2-3 intraseasonal events induced by the Madden-Julian Oscillation (MJO). During a typical intraseasonal event, enhanced cross-equatorial wind induces strong upwelling and ocean mixing, thus increasing the supply of nutrients to the surface in equatorial regions. Argo profiles clearly show various responses to the intraseasonal wind bursts, including shoaling of the thermocline and deepening of the mixed layer. Further analysis reveals that the former is the dominant mechanism for the blooms along the equator, while the latter controls the high Chla concentrations off the coast of Somalia. Surface ocean circulations not only account for the blooms south of the equator but also modulate the thermocline depth in the WEIO. The shallower thermocline during the early period of the northeast monsoon season provides favorable conditions for a stronger Chla response to intraseasonal forcing.

A winter chlorophyll bloom analyzed using Lagrangian diagnoses in the northeastern South China Sea

The Finite Time Lyapunov Exponent technique is a highly effective way to visualize and analyze flow fields. Its ridges are referred to as Lagrangian Coherent Structures which reveal the transport barriers of fluid systems, or their hidden skeletons. This allows us to investigate the complex mesoscale and submesoscale ocean processes on a Lagrangian view. In this article, we use the Lagrangian technique to investigate one chlorophyll bloom event in the northeastern South China Sea and discuss the impact of horizontal transport on the distribution of surface chlorophyll. Our results demonstrate that horizontal transport barriers uncovered by Lagrangian Coherent Structures can shape the vortex and filament in a simple and distinct way.