Category: Physical Oceanography

Upper Ocean Heat content during the intensification of Hurricanes Katrina (left) and Isaac (right) Image Credit: New York Times

Satellite-derived Heat Content Product Developed at AOML Helps to Understand The Differences in Intensity Between Tropical Storm Isaac and Hurricane Katrina

A news article that appeared on August 27 shows the ocean conditions in the Gulf of Mexico during hurricanes Katrina (August 2005) and Isaac (August 2012). The ocean conditions are depicted by the upper ocean heat content derived from satellite altimetry using a methodology developed at NOAA/AOML. The upper ocean heat content had larger values during Katrina mainly due to an anticyclonic warm ring and an extended Loop Current. These conditions, not found during the passage of Hurricane Isaac, partly contributed to the intensification of Katrina.

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(a) Simulated pathways of the northward heat transport (contours) and heat transport vector (vectors) in the upper 3000 m for 1979-2008 obtained from the control experiment (EXP_CTR). The unit is 1x109 W/m. (b) Differences in the simulated northward heat transport (contours) and heat transport vector (vectors) between 1979-2008 and 1871-1900 periods, obtained from EXP_CTR. Red color indicates northward heat transport, while blue color indicates southward heat transport. (c) Globally averaged zonal wind stress for 1871-1900 and for 1979-2008 periods, obtained from the 20th Century Reanalysis. Image Credit: NOAA AOML.

What Caused the Significant Increase in Atlantic Ocean Heat Content Since the mid-20th Century?

A new study led by researchers from University of Miami, NOAA-AOML, IFM-GEOMAR, and NCAR explores why the Atlantic Ocean has warmed substantially more than any other ocean basin since the 1950s. The research article published in the Geophysical Research letters evidences that the observed large warming of the Atlantic Ocean since the 1950s is largely induced by an increase in the inter-ocean heat transport from the Indian Ocean via the Agulhas leakage. The study points to an important role played by the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC) in the South Atlantic in enhancing the secular warming of the Atlantic Ocean.

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IPCC projected changes of bluefin tuna’s spawning habitat in the Gulf of Mexico due to anthropogenic global warming for three time frames: top (late 20th century), (middle) mid 21st century and (bottom) late 21st century. The colors indicate preferred spawning habitat, with yellow/orange for favored locations and blue/purple for non-ideal regions. Liu and Lee’s research indicates that the area of spawning habitat for the bluefin tuna may not be as drastically reduced as in the IPCC results shown in these figures. Image Credit: NOAA AOML.

Collaborative Research between PhOD and SEFSC Presented at Bluefin Tuna Workshop

A joint workshop hosted by NOAA and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) for bluefin tuna research was held at the University of Miami on December 6-7th. Researchers with AOML’s Physical Oceanography Division (PhOD) presented the results of their collaborative efforts with NOAA’s Southeast Fisheries Science Center (SEFSC), which have focused on the link between the ocean and stock assessment species of relevant commercial importance.

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