Submesoscale Anisotropic Marine Biological Variability near Bermuda: Ocean Color and SST
David
M
Glover, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, dglover@whoi.edu
(Presenting)
Scott
C.
Doney, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, sdoney@whoi.edu
Norman
Nelson, University of California, Santa Barbara, norm@icess.ucsb.edu
Alise
Wallis, Hunter College, alise.wallis@verizon.net
Submesoscale and mesoscale physical variability strongly modulate the structure, biomass, and rates of marine ecosystems and their functioning in the ocean. Characteristic time and space scales of key ocean physical-biological phenomena range from the submesoscale (0.3-10 km; day-week) to mesoscale (10-300 km; week-few months). In Doney et al. [2003], we characterized for the first time the geographical patterns of the magnitude and spatial-scales of mesoscale ocean biological variability globally for a single year. Now, we present interim results characterizing the submesoscale component of ocean color variability using variogram techniques applied to high spatial resolution (1 km), regional satellite data near Bermuda. In the previous work, using SeaWiFS standard mapped level 3 products, we were unable to resolve between a true geophysical signal in the submesoscale versus instrument and/or environmental noise; here we show that the submesoscale (<10km) accounts for approximately 50% of the total resolved variance, the remainder found at mesoscales. We can extend this analysis to remotely sensed, physical variables and introduce here geostatistical analyses of the spatial variability found in sea surface temperature (SST). On submesoscales, we present variograms of SST and cross-variograms between ocean color and SST. Comparison of the distribution of submesoscale variability among biological and physical variables provides important insights into the mechanisms of interaction between biological ecosystems and their physical environment. Quantification of anisotropic submesoscale variability is an essential first step in deriving physical-biological parameterizations that may deviate significantly from purely physical, conservative tracers.
NASA Carbon Cycle & Ecosystems Active Awards Represented by this Poster: