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Use of SeaWiFS ocean color data to estimate neritic sediment mass transport from carbonate platforms for two hurricane-forced events

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Abstract

Plumes of neritic sediment caused by the passage of Hurricane Gert near Bermuda in 1999, and by the passage of Hurricane Michelle over Cuba’s Gulf of Batabano in 2001, were observed by the Sea-viewing Wide Field-of-view Sensor (SeaWiFS). The mass of sediments in each of these plumes, which consist largely of neritic carbonate particles, was estimated using an algorithm for the calculation of suspended sediment concentrations. The Bermuda and Batabano plumes transported 0.22 and 1.2–1.35 million kg of sediment, respectively. The algorithm results were compared with the results from two other sediment mass algorithms and proved to be consistent. These results indicate the potential use of remote sensing to estimate carbonate flux from coral reefs and banks and atolls as an augmentation to in situ studies. In addition, the use of remote sensing data may improve estimates of the annual global carbonate sediment flux, a quantity important to models of global carbonate production and the global carbon cycle.

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Acknowledgements

We are grateful to Dr. Richard Gould of the Naval Research Laboratory, Stennis Space Center, Mississippi and Paul Martinolich of Neptune Science Inc. for processing the data files with their algorithm and providing the results for our examination. We are also grateful to Dr. Yu-Hwan Ahn for processing the data files with his algorithm and providing these results to us. SeaWiFS data are the property of Orbimage, Inc. and are used for this research in accordance with the SeaWiFS Research Data Terms and Conditions Agreement of the NASA SeaWiFS Project. We would also like to acknowledge the operators of the HRPT stations at the Bermuda Biological Station for Research and the University of South Florida Institute for Marine Remote Sensing (ImaRS) for acquiring the SeaWiFS data used for this research.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Code 902, Greenbelt, MD 20771-0001, USA

    James G. Acker & Denis Nadeau

  2. Science Systems and Applications Inc., 10210 Greenbelt Rd., Lanham, MD 20706, USA

    Alexander Vasilkov

  3. NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, SeaWiFS Project, Code 970.2, Greenbelt, MD 20771-0001, USA

    Norman Kuring

Authors
  1. James G. Acker
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  2. Alexander Vasilkov
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  3. Denis Nadeau
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  4. Norman Kuring
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Correspondence to James G. Acker.

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James G. Acker and Denis Nadeau are employed by Science Systems and Applications, Inc.

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Acker, J.G., Vasilkov, A., Nadeau, D. et al. Use of SeaWiFS ocean color data to estimate neritic sediment mass transport from carbonate platforms for two hurricane-forced events. Coral Reefs 23, 39–47 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00338-003-0355-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00338-003-0355-9

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