Yasser Abualnaja

The transport of nutrient-rich Indian Ocean water through the Red Sea and into coastal reef systems

Driven by upwelling-favorable monsoon winds, nutrient-rich Gulf of Aden Intermediate Water (GAIW) enters the Red Sea from the Indian Ocean each summer. Hydrographic and velocity data acquired in autumn 2011 provide the first indication that GAIW is carried rapidly northward along the eastern Red Sea margin in a well-defined subsurface current with speeds >30 cm s−1. The nutrientrich (NO2 + NO3 concentrations up to 17 μmol l−1) GAIW overlaps the euphotic zone and appears to fuel enhanced productivity over depths of 35–67 m. GAIW is broadly distributed through the Red Sea, extending northward along the eastern Red Sea boundary to ∼24◦N and carried across the Red Sea in the circulation of a basin-scale eddy. Of particular significance is the observed incursion of GAIW into coastal areas with dense coral formations, suggesting that GAIW could be an important source of new nutrients to coral reef ecosystems of the Red Sea.

Atmospheric Forcing of the Winter Air–Sea Heat Fluxes over the Northern Red Sea

AbstractThe influence of the atmospheric circulation on the winter air–sea heat fluxes over the northern Red Sea is investigated during the period 1985–2011. The analysis based on daily heat flux values reveals that most of the net surface heat exchange variability depends on the behavior of the turbulent components of the surface flux (the sum of the latent and sensible heat). The large-scale composite sea level pressure (SLP) maps corresponding to turbulent flux minima and maxima show distinct atmospheric circulation patterns associated with each case. In general, extreme heat loss (with turbulent flux lower than −400 W m−2) over the northern Red Sea is observed when anticyclonic conditions prevail over an area extending from the Mediterranean Sea to eastern Asia along with a recession of the equatorial African lows system. Subcenters of high pressure associated with this pattern generate the required steep SLP gradient that enhances the wind magnitude and transfers cold and dry air masses from higher l...

Impacts of Climate Modes on Air–Sea Heat Exchange in the Red Sea

AbstractThe impacts of various climate modes on the Red Sea surface heat exchange are investigated using the MERRA reanalysis and the OAFlux satellite reanalysis datasets. Seasonality in the atmospheric forcing is also explored. Mode impacts peak during boreal winter [December–February (DJF)] with average anomalies of 12–18 W m−2 to be found in the northern Red Sea. The North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO), the east Atlantic–west Russia (EAWR) pattern, and the Indian monsoon index (IMI) exhibit the strongest influence on the air–sea heat exchange during the winter. In this season, the largest negative anomalies of about −30 W m−2 are associated with the EAWR pattern over the central part of the Red Sea. In other seasons, mode-related anomalies are considerably lower, especially during spring when the mode impacts are negligible. The mode impacts are strongest over the northern half of the Red Sea during winter and autumn. In summer, the southern half of the basin is strongly influenced by the multivariate ENS...

Process modeling studies of physical mechanisms of the formation of an anticyclonic eddy in the central Red Sea

Surface drifters released in the central Red Sea during April 2010 detected a well-defined anticyclonic eddy around 23°N. This eddy was ∼45–60 km in radius, with a swirl speed up to ∼0.5 m/s. The eddy feature was also evident in monthly averaged sea surface height fields and in current profiles measured on a cross-isobath, shipboard CTD/ADCP survey around that region. The unstructured-grid, Finite-Volume Community Ocean Model (FVCOM) was configured for the Red Sea and process studies were conducted to establish the conditions necessary for the eddy to form and to establish its robustness. The model was capable of reproducing the observed anticyclonic eddy with the same location and size. Diagnosis of model results suggests that the eddy can be formed in a Red Sea that is subject to seasonally varying buoyancy forcing, with no wind, but that its location and structure are significantly altered by wind forcing, initial distribution of water stratification and southward coastal flow from the upstream area. Momentum analysis indicates that the flow field of the eddy was in geostrophic balance, with the baroclinic pressure gradient forcing about the same order of magnitude as the surface pressure gradient forcing.

Factors governing the deep ventilation of the Red Sea

A variety of data based on hydrographic measurements, satellite observations, reanalysis databases, and meteorological observations are used to explore the interannual variability and factors governing the deep water formation in the northern Red Sea. Historical and recent hydrographic data consistently indicate that the ventilation of the near-bottom layer in the Red Sea is a robust feature of the thermohaline circulation. Dense water capable to reach the bottom layers of the Red Sea can be regularly produced mostly inside the Gulfs of Aqaba and Suez. Occasionally, during colder than usual winters, deep water formation may also take place over coastal areas in the northernmost end of the open Red Sea just outside the Gulfs of Aqaba and Suez. However, the origin as well as the amount of deep waters exhibit considerable interannual variability depending not only on atmospheric forcing but also on the water circulation over the northern Red Sea. Analysis of several recent winters shows that the strength of the cyclonic gyre prevailing in the northernmost part of the basin can effectively influence the sea surface temperature (SST) and intensify or moderate the winter surface cooling. Upwelling associated with periods of persistent gyre circulation lowers the SST over the northernmost part of the Red Sea and can produce colder than normal winter SST even without extreme heat loss by the sea surface. In addition, the occasional persistence of the cyclonic gyre feeds the surface layers of the northern Red Sea with nutrients, considerably increasing the phytoplankton biomass.

Physical mechanisms routing nutrients in the central Red Sea

Mesoscale eddies and boundary currents play a key role in the upper layer circulation of the Red Sea. This study assesses the physical and biochemical characteristics of an eastern boundary current (EBC) and recurrent eddies in the central Red Sea (CRS) using a combination of in situ and satellite observations. Hydrographic surveys in November 2013 (autumn) and in April 2014 (spring) in the CRS (22.15 − 24.1°N) included a total of 39 and 27 CTD stations, respectively. In addition, high-resolution hydrographic data were acquired in spring 2014 with a towed undulating vehicle (ScanFish). In situ measurements of salinity, temperature, chlorophyll fluorescence, colored dissolved organic matter (CDOM), and dissolved nitrate: phosphorous ratios reveal distinct water mass characteristics for the two periods. An EBC, observed in the upper 150 m of the water column during autumn, transported low-salinity and warm water from the south toward the CRS. Patches of the low-salinity water of southern origin tended to contain relatively high concentrations of chlorophyll and CDOM. The prominent dynamic feature observed in spring was a cyclonic/anticyclonic eddy pair. The cyclonic eddy was responsible for an upward nutrient flux into the euphotic zone. Higher chlorophyll and CDOM concentrations, and concomitant lower nitrate:phosphorous ratios indicate the influence of the EBC in the CRS at the end of the stratified summer period.

Unraveling Climatic Wind and Wave Trends in the Red Sea Using Wave Spectra Partitioning

AbstractThe wind and wave climatology of the Red Sea is derived from a validated 30-year high-resolution model simulation. After describing the relevant features of the basin, the main wind and wave systems are identified by using an innovative spectral partition technique to explain their genesis and characteristics. In the northern part of the sea, wind and waves of the same intensity are present throughout the year, while the central and southern zones are characterized by a marked seasonality. The partition technique allows the association of a general decrease in the energy of the different wave systems with a specific weather pattern. The most intense decrease is found in the northern storms, which are associated with meteorological pulses from the Mediterranean Sea.

Sea-level changes

Sea levels are always changing, for many reasons. Some changes are rapid, while others take place very slowly. The changes can be local, or extend globally. Sea levels, particularly extremes, are important for coastal flooding and coral reef development, both of which may be impacted by climate change. In this chapter, we review Red Sea sea-level changes, before looking at the various processes involved in more detail and relating them to basin development and dynamics. There is no systematic review of Red Sea levels: most scientific studies have been local and piecemeal; measurements are few and limited to widely spaced harbour facilities. This chapter is a brief overview of sea-level changes and a source of references for further studies. On increasing timescales, we review tidal, weekly, seasonal and long-term changes. Finally, we link to changes of sea level in the recent geological record.