Coastal Ocean Observing Systems

SEACOOS Facilitating Marine Systems Science in FloridaC. Simoniello, Florida Sea Grant Extension Program, USF College of Marine Science, 140 7th Avenue South, St. Petersburg, FL 33701 simo@marine.usf.edu

M. Spranger, Assistant Director for Extension, Florida Sea Grant College Program, P.O. Box 110400, Gainesville, FL 32611-0400, msspranger@ifas.ufl.edu

www.seacoos.orgIntroduction

The SouthEast Atlantic Coastal Ocean Observing System (SEACOOS) is a collaborative university partnership that collects, manages, and disseminates integrated regional observations and information products for the Southeast Coastal Ocean-the domain extending from the Florida Panhandle to the North Carolina shelf north of Cape Hatteras (Fig. 1).

Poised between distinct, yet interacting coastal ocean systems, Florida exemplifies the need for integrated, multi-disciplinary information to manage its resources. Florida Bay researchers, in particular, must consider influences from the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico and waters from the Atlantic Ocean that connect through tidal passes between the Florida Keys.

One of the key considerations regarding variability and exchange processes in the domain is the relative influence of local and deep-ocean forcing on physical characteristics (e.g. sea level, water velocity, temperature, salinity), and on chemical and biological

constituents (e.g. nutrients, organic and inorganic particulate and dissolved matter, and organisms of various trophic levels).

Presented here are examples of how SEACOOS researchers are serving the critical and expanding needs of environmental protection, public health, research and education. Emphasis is placed on contributions by SEACOOS researchers from the University of Miami, Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science (UM RSMAS) and the University of South Florida, College of Marine Science (USF CMS).

Fig. 1 A preliminary map of observing system resource locations and providers within the SEACOOS domain

SEACOOS Applications in Florida

EnvironmentalProtection

Everglades Restoration ProjectUM RSMAS scientists, in partnership with the National Research Laboratory, Stennis Space Center and

NOAA/AOML have developed a nested modeling approach to link the higher resolution (1/25 degree) coastal models of Florida Bay and the Florida Keys (FK) with courser resolution (1/12 degree) models of adjacent seas through suitable boundary conditions. The South Florida (SoFLA) Regional Model is an adaptation of the Hybrid Coordinate Ocean Model (HYCOM). The major contribution made by nesting the SoFLA-HYCOM within a larger scale North Atlantic HYCOM (Fig. 2) is that accurate simulations of the interaction between shallow water dynamics around the Florida Bay and the FK reef tract with larger scale oceanic flows are possible.

Examples demonstrating utility of SoFLA-HYCOM products are shown in Figs. 3 and 4. Fig. 3 shows that remote sources of low salinity waters reach the Florida Keys and can alter regional distributions even in the dry season (winter and spring). Fig. 4 shows the passage of eddies between the Florida Current front and the reef tract. A major contribution of this work is understanding the influence of rivers and weather systems on the Southwest Florida shelf and Florida Bay, critical needs as the Everglades Restoration Project moves forward.

Please contact Villy Kourafalou vkourafalou@rsmas.miami.edu for more information.

Fig. 2 The SoFLA-HYCOM Regional Model domain (blue shaded area); embedded is a sub-domain (light gray) where model parameters (current velocity, temperature, salinity, and sea surface elevation) are archived for use by coastal Florida Bay and Florida Keys models. The orange lines mark the open boundaries that are employed for nesting with the larger scale HYCOM. Image courtesy of Villy Kourafalou.

Low salinity water of Mississippi originInfluence of remote sources of low salinity can alter regional distributions even in the dry season

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Fig. 3 Surface salinity and currents in the SoFLA HYCOM domain during the dry season (winter to spring). An advantage of the SoFLA HYCOM is that it includes shallow Keys topography and can document features that are absent from the larger scale HYCOM. Image courtesy of Villy Kourafalou

Fig. 4 The SoFLA HYCOM simulates the year-round eddy passages along the Loop Current/Florida Current. Eddies provide a transport mechanism of material and nutrients between the Dry Tortugas and the Florida Bay/Keys. Image courtesy of Villy Kourafalou.

Black Water EventsUSF CMS scientists from the Institute for Marine Remote Sensing (IMaRS), in partnership with UM RSMAS and the

South-West Florida Dark Water Observations Group (SWFDOG) are using synoptic observing system data provided by Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS), Sea-viewing Wide Field-of-View Sensor (SeaWifS) and Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) satellite images to link coastal plume events on the Southwest Florida Shelf (Fig. 5) to ecosystem and public health issues related to Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs).

A major contribution of this work is sorting out the chlorophyll-related spectral signature from other factors in the coastal environment that affect optical properties (e.g. dissolved matter, suspended particles, shallow bathymetry). The group of researchers accomplished this task by using an ocean color index that is based on measures of water-leaving radiance (Fig. 6). Because phytoplankton pigment absorbs strongly in the blue, water-leaving radiance values are low when phytoplankton concentrations are high. Thus, low values indicate the presence of an algal bloom.

Please contact Chuanmin Hu hu@marine.usf.edu for more information.

Public Health

Fig. 5 Sea-viewing Wide Field-of-View Sensor (SeaWiFS) satellite image of a plume off the southwest coast of Florida. Image courtesy of USF CMS Institute for Marine Remote Sensing.

Fig. 6 Fluorescence increases as the color changes from dark blue to green, yellow, and red. White = regions masked by sensor artifacts. Image courtesy of USF CMS Institute for Marine Remote Sensing.

Mapping Coral Larval Transport UM RSMAS researchers in the Ocean Prediction Experimental Laboratory (OPEL) are coupling physical and biological

oceanography to study larval dispersion patterns during mass coral spawning events. Using a combination of the regional East Florida Shelf-Princeton Ocean Model (EFS-POM) on a curvilinear grid for the Straits of Florida/EFS region and a high-resolution nested model for the Upper Florida Keys (Fig. 7), the team has shown that dispersion patterns are strongly affected by different physical forcing mechanisms (e.g. wind, tides and the Florida Current front).

Comparisons of simulations of particle surface transport patterns with particles collected during tracer experiments and with the trajectory of 1 m drogue reveal that the model reasonably predicts advection of passive particles away from release locations (Fig. 8).

A major contribution of this work is that it demonstrates that mesoscale events associated with the Florida Current (e.g.

variability due to eddy passages) are sufficiently strong to temporarily modify expected along-shelf and cross-shelf transport patterns. This has implications not only for coral larvae, but for many planktonic species and species with planktonic life stages.

Please contact Jerome Fiechter jfiechter@rsmas.miami.edu for more information.

Research

Fig. 7 Left panel: East Florida Shelf regional coastal ocean model (with grid sub-sampled by a factor of ten for clarity). The Upper Florida Keys higher resolution nested sub-domain is outlined in black. Right panels: (Top) Upper Florida Keys sub-domain (with grid sub-sampled by a factor of ten for clarity); (bottom) Reef bottom topography as represented by the model in the vicinity of North Dry Rocks (black circle). Image courtesy of UM RSMAS Ocean Prediction Experimental Laboratory.

Fig. 8 Simulated particle surface transport compared with 1 m drogue trajectory (yellow dots) and particles collected during a tracer experiment (numbers indicate count and location). Red: wind+tides, no wave-induced turbulence; Blue: wind+tides, with wave-induced turbulence; Green: tides only. Particles for the tracer study were released at North Dry Rocks (light blue square) on September 9, 2004, at 11:00 h GMT. Image courtesy of UM RSMAS Ocean Prediction Experimental Laboratory.

Tracking Hurricane Katrina Flow The USF-CMS Ocean Circulation Group has created a forecasting product that generates trajectories for

particles originating between the Mississippi River (MR) Delta and the Loop Current (Fig. 9). The trajectories are tracked with geostrophic currents from satellite-derived Sea Surface Height (SSH). Biweekly Eulerian surface geostrophic current analyses are linearly interpolated between analysis intervals and the fields are integrated in time and space to give trajectory estimates. Simulations begin at given times with a uniform distribution of particles centered on and to the south of the MR delta. For times beyond the last analysis interval currents are held steady to produce the forecast. These are updated with each new analysis interval. (Note that trajectories omit other effects such as winds for which a complete ocean circulation model is needed.)

A major contribution of this work is that it demonstrates that particles of MR origin can become entrained in the Loop Current and be transported to the Florida Keys and beyond via the Florida Current.

Please contact Aida Alvera-Azcarate aalvera@marine.usf.edu for more information.

Research

Fig. 9 Forecast of water of Mississippi River origin (top), entrained into the Loop Current (middle), arriving in the vicinity of the Florida Keys (bottom). Colors denote sea surface height (cm). Stars are simulated particle trajectories. Complete movies available at http://ocg6.marine.usf.edu, click on Katrina tracking tool. Images courtesy of USF CMS Ocean Circulation Group.

Mark Luther, director of the USF-CMS Ocean Modeling and Prediction Laboratory, is the local operator for the NOAA Tampa Bay Physical Oceanographic Real-Time System (TB-PORTS). The marine information acquisition and dissemination technology, developed by NOAA National Ocean Service (NOS) in collaboration with University of South Florida College of Marine Science, improves navigational safety and protects the environment by providing more accurate water level, current, and meteorological data for Tampa Bay. TB-PORTS integrates real-time current, water level, temperature, wave, visibility, and wind measurements collected every six minutes at multiple locations.

Please contact Mark Luther luther@marine.usf.edu for more information.

Operations

SEACOOS Outreach and EducationSEACOOS Outreach and Education products and programs are coordinated by the Sea Grant Extension Programs in

Florida, Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina. The Sea Grant programs work in partnership with the Centers for Ocean Science Education Excellence (COSEE) . A variety of posters (Fig. 10) and classroom activities can be found at www.seacoos.org under the Community and Classroom link.

Please contact Chris Simoniello simo@marine.usf.edu for more information.

Outreach &Education

Fig. 10 The Making Waves posterIs an example of a SEACOOSeducation product. Related classroom activities can be foundon the www.seacoos.org website.

Poster design by Chad Edmisten – USF College of Marine SciencePoster design by Chad Edmisten – USF College of Marine Science