A Look at Hurricanes Through the Eyes of Various Satellite Sensors

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A Look at Hurricanes Through the Eyes of
Various Satellite Sensors

• Michelle Gierach
• Marine Science Program
• University of South Carolina

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(No Transcript)
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Background

• During Hurricane Passage
• Strong wind stirring occurs at the surface of the
  ocean
• Mixed layer deepens
• Cold subsurface water and nutrients are injected
  into the surface layer

http//www.nasa.gov/mpeg/115123main_ColdingEngine.
mpeg

• After Hurricane Passage
• Cold wakes are observed
• Phytoplankton blooms are detected

http//www.nasa.gov/mpeg/114586main_seabloom.mpeg
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http//scienceblogs.com/intersection/upload/2006/0
9/ioke_sst_anom_2006.png
http//www.jhu.edu/scor/GEOHAB_2001.pdf
Walker et al., 2005
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Data

• Sea Surface Temperature (SST)
• Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR)
• Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission Microwave
  Imager (TMI)
• Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer (AMSR-E)

http//www.noaanews.noaa.gov/stories2005/images/no
aa-n.jpg

• Sea Surface Height (SSH)
• Jason-1
• TOPEX/POSEIDON
• Geosat Follow-On (GFO)
• ERS-2
• Envisat

http//www.eorc.jaxa.jp/TRMM/about/outline/image/u
zutrmm.jpg
http//www2.jpl.nasa.gov/pub/images/browse/jason_b
rowse.jpg

• Chlorophyll-a Concentration
• MODerate resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer
  (MODIS)
• Sea-viewing Wide Field-of-view Sensor (SeaWiFS)
• Ocean Colour Monitor (OCM)

http//science.hq.nasa.gov/missions/images/aqua_or
bit.jpg
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Case Studies

• Hurricanes Katrina and Rita (2005)

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Gulf of Mexico
Gulf of Mexico SSTs (C) at 0000 UTC 15 August
2005 overlaid with SSH contours
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Hurricane Katrina (2005)
From NHC http//www.nhc.noaa.gov/pdf/TCR-AL122005
_Katrina.pdf

• Hurricane Katrina made first landfall near the
  border of Miami-Dade/Broward County at 2230 UTC
  25 August as a category 1 hurricane
• Katrina made second landfall as a category 3
  hurricane near Buras, Louisiana at 1110 UTC 29
  August
• Katrina made final landfall at the
  Louisiana-Mississippi border near the mouth of
  the Pearl River as a category 3 hurricane

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Hurricane Katrina (2005)AVHRR SST
1604 UTC 30 August 2005
0317 UTC 31 August 2005

• Pre-storm AVHRR SSTs exceeded 29C
• AVHRR SSTs cooled to approximately 26C 3-4 days
  after hurricane passage
• Maximum AVHRR SST change was 3-4C for Hurricane
  Katrina

Gierach and Subrahmanyam, 2007
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Hurricane Katrina (2005)TMI SST
25-28 August 2005

• Minimum TMI SSTs of 22-23C were observed on
  25-28 August
• Maximum TMI SST change was 6-7C for Hurricane
  Katrina

Gierach and Subrahmanyam, 2008
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Hurricane Katrina (2005)MODIS Chlorophyll-a

• Initial chlorophyll-a values ranged between 0-0.2
  mg m-3
• Peak chlorophyll concentrations of 2.69 mg m-3
  were observed 4 days after passage
• Chlorophyll-a values returned to initial
  concentrations 10-17 days after passage of Katrina

Gierach and Subrahmanyam, 2008
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Hurricane Katrina (2005)SSHA
31 August 2005

• The interest region associated with Hurricane
  Katrina occurred over a pre-existing cyclonic
  circulation

Gierach and Subrahmanyam, 2008
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Hurricane Rita (2005)
From NHC http//www.nhc.noaa.gov/pdf/TCR-AL182005
_Rita.pdf

• Hurricane Rita made landfall in southwestern
  Louisiana at 0740 UTC 24 September as a category
  3 hurricane

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Hurricane Rita (2005)AVHRR and TMI SST
22-25 September 2005
0814 UTC 28 September 2005

• Hurricane Rita illustrated a similar SST response
  to that of Katrina
• AVHRR maximum sea surface cooling was 3-4C on 28
  September
• Minimum TMI SSTs of 24-25C, or an SST change of
  4-5C, occurred on 22-25 September

Gierach and Subrahmanyam, 2007 2008
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Hurricane Rita (2005)MODIS Chlorophyll-a

• Initial chlorophyll-a concentrations ranged
  between 0-0.2 mg m-3
• Peak chlorophyll concentrations of 1.97 mg m-3
  were observed 5 days after passage
• Change in chlorophyll-a could have been greater,
  but cloud coverage was an issue for the time
  period associated with Rita

Gierach and Subrahmanyam, 2008
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Hurricane Rita (2005)SSHA
28 September 2005

• The interest region associated with Hurricane
  Rita transpired over a cyclonic circulation

Gierach and Subrahmanyam, 2008
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Take Home Message

• Hurricanes are beneficial to Earth
• Redistribute heat
• Aside from devastation on land, hurricanes affect
  the ocean in positive and negative ways
• Expect to observe cold wakes and patchy
  phytoplankton blooms after hurricane passage
• Oceanic processes can greatly enhance
  hurricane-induced responses

http//earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Library/Hurricane
s/
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Thank You!
Hurricane Katrina (2005)
Hurricane Rita (2005)
http//rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/gallery/
This work is funded in part by the NASA physical
oceanography program and South Carolina Space
Grant Consortium
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Satellite Oceanography Websites

• NOAA CoastWatch
• Provides near real-time SST, ocean surface wind,
  and ocean color data from a variety of satellite
  sensors for multiple ocean regions
• http//coastwatch.noaa.gov
• http//cwcaribbean.aoml.noaa.gov/data.html
• Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) SST Imagery
• Provides near real-time AVHRR SSTs for a variety
  of regions
• http//fermi.jhuapl.edu/avhrr/index.html
• CCAR Near Real-Time Altimetry Data
• Supplies near real-time SSH and SSHA data for the
  Gulf of Mexico and global ocean
• http//argo.colorado.edu/realtime/welcome/
• POET
• Allows users to choose from multiple parameters
  (temperature, wind, height, current) and
  satellite sensors
• http//poet.jpl.nasa.gov/
• Ocean Color Web
• Allows users to view various ocean color sensor
  products

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Satellite Oceanography Websites

• Giovanni
• Provides a simple and intuitive way to visualize,
  analyze, and access vast amounts of Earth science
  remote sensing data without having to download
  the data
• http//disc.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/techlab/giovanni/
• (1) Ocean Color Radiometry Online Visualization
  and Analysis
• http//gdata1-ts1.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/daac-bin/G3/gu
  i.cgi?instance_idocean_model
• http//gdata1-ts1.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/daac-bin/G3/gu
  i.cgi?instance_idocean_model_day
• (2) Ocean Color Time-Series Online Visualization
  and Analysis http//reason.gsfc.nasa.gov/Giovan
  ni/
• (3) Hurricane Data Portal http//disc.sci.gsfc.n
  asa.gov/hurricane/
• NOAA Harmful Algal Bloom (HAB) Forecasting
  System
• Supplies information on the location, extent, and
  potential for development or movement of HABs in
  the Gulf of Mexico
• Users have access to near real-time and
  historical observations and models from the
  Harmful Algal BloomS Observing System (HABSOS) at
  the National Coastal Data Development Center
• http//www.csc.noaa.gov/crs/habf/