Estimation of Phytoplankton Responses to Hurricane Gonu over the Arabian Sea Based on Ocean Color Data

In this study the authors investigated phytoplankton variations in the Arabian Sea associated with Hurricane Gonu using remote-sensing data of chlorophyll-a (Chl-a), sea surface temperature (SST) and winds. Additional data sets used for the study included the hurricane and Conductivity-Temperature-Depth data. Hurricane Gonu, presenting extremely powerful wind intensity, originated over the central Arabian Sea (near 67.7°E, 15.1°N) on June 2, 2007; it traveled along a northwestward direction and made landfall in Iran around June 7. Before Hurricane Gonu, Chl-a data indicated relatively low phytoplankton biomass (0.05-0.2 mg m(-3)), along with generally high SST (>28.5 °C) and weak wind (<10 m s(-1)) in the Arabian Sea. Shortly after Gonu's passage, two phytoplankton blooms were observed northeast of Oman (Chl-a of 3.5 mg m(-3)) and in the eastern central Arabian Sea (Chl-a of 0.4 mg m(-3)), with up to 10-fold increase in surface Chl-a concentrations, respectively. The Chl-a in the two post-hurricane blooms were 46% and 42% larger than those in June of other years, respectively. The two blooms may be attributed to the storm-induced nutrient uptake, since hurricane can influence intensively both dynamical and biological processes through vertical mixing and Ekman Pumping.