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Dynamics of the Loop Current System and Its Effects on Surface and Subsurface Properties in the Gulf of Mexico

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Dynamics of the Loop Current System and Its Effects on Surface and Subsurface Properties in the Gulf of Mexico University of South Carolina Scholar Commons Theses and Dissertations Spring 2020 Dynamics of the Loop Current System and Its Effects on Surface and Subsurface Properties in the Gulf of Mexico Richard James Brokaw Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarcommons.sc.edu/etd Part of the Marine Biology Commons Recommended Citation Brokaw, R. J.(2020). Dynamics of the Loop Current System and Its Effects on Surface and Subsurface Properties in the Gulf of Mexico. (Master's thesis). Retrieved from https://scholarcommons.sc.edu/etd/ 5934 This Open Access Thesis is brought to you by Scholar Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Scholar Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. DYNAMICS OF THE LOOP CURRENT SYSTEM AND ITS EFFECTS ON SURFACE AND SUBSURFACE PROPERTIES IN THE GULF OF MEXICO by Richard James Brokaw Bachelor of Science University of South Carolina, 2019 Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements For the Degree of Master of Science in Marine Science College of Arts and Sciences University of South Carolina 2020 Accepted by: Subrahmanyam Bulusu, Director of Thesis Alexander Yankovsky, Reader Gregory Carbone, Reader Cheryl L. Addy, Vice Provost and Dean of the Graduate School © Copyright by Richard James Brokaw, 2020 All Rights Reserved ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to first acknowledge my major advisor, Dr. Subrahmanyam Bulusu, without whom this thesis and the research which comprises it would not be possible. He first advised me to pursue the accelerated degree program and has been extremely helpful throughout this process. I would also like to thank my committee members, Dr. Alexander Yankovsky and Dr. Gregory Carbone who have contributed meaningful input and support. My lab colleagues, Heather Roman-Stork, Rachel Nichols, Casey Shoup, Dr. Corinne Trott, and Dr. Brady Ferster have also provided invaluable help and support while working towards this degree and research. I would additionally like to acknowledge my collaborators, Dr. Steven Morey and Dr. Alexis Chaigneau, whose contributions to this research have greatly enhanced its quality. Finally, I would like to thank my parents, Rick and Cathy Brokaw, my sister Grace Brokaw, my loving partner Abigail Phillips, and all other loved ones whose continual love and support have been crucial throughout my completion of this thesis. iii ABSTRACT Surface circulation in the Gulf of Mexico is dominated by the Loop Current System (LCS), including the Loop Current (LC) and its associated eddies. The Gulf of Mexico (GoM) also displays long-term surface gradients of temperature and salinity due to climatological features including the intrusion of warm, saline waters from the Caribbean Sea and the seasonal deposition of Freshwater from the Mississippi River System caused by seasonal increases in snow melt and precipitation over the watershed. This research aims to increase the understanding of the LCS through the investigation of its relationship with these surface gradients. A classification system of LCS interaction with seasonally- present freshwater is developed to explore how the LCS can deform salinity gradients within the GulF. Surface advective freshwater flux is calculated by combining satellite- derived measurements of sea level anomalies with sea surface salinity from the recent satellite salinity missions, ESA’s Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity (SMOS) and NASA’s Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP), in order to observe lateral movement of low-salinity water throughout the Gulf. Through interaction with the LCS, riverine-sourced freshwater can have numerous fates and redistribution patterns throughout the GoM. The LCS shares the GoM surface with a large mesoscale eddy field, which is investigated through the application of an automatic eddy-tracking algorithm to absolute dynamic topography derived from satellite altimetry and sea surface height from HYbrid Coordinate Ocean Model (HYCOM) simulations. The spatial distribution and temporal evolution of eddy properties, as well as the variation of these surface and subsurface iv properties between the eastern and western GulF are analyzed. Surface eddy composite analysis reveals that long-term gradients present in the GoM greatly affect eddy salinity, temperature, and chlorophyll-a concentrations. HYCOM simulations are verified with in- situ Argo profile data in order to investigate mean eddy vertical structure, which varies greatly between the eastern and western Gulf of Mexico. The classifications of LCS interaction with low-salinity water presented here offer a new explanation for the multiple fates of Mississippi River waters, and composite analysis of surface and subsurface eddy properties provides an innovative and complete picture of the GoM mesoscale eddy field. v TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ........................................................................................................ iii ABSTRACT .......................................................................................................................... iv LIST OF FIGURES ............................................................................................................... viii CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................. 1 1.1 LOOP CURRENT SYSTEM .................................................................................... 2 1.2 MESOSCALE EDDY FIELD ................................................................................... 3 CHAPTER 2: LOOP CURRENT AND EDDY DRIVEN SALINITY VARIABILITY IN THE GULF OF MEXICO ..................................................................................................... 8 2.1 INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................... 9 2.2 DATA AND METHODS ....................................................................................... 11 2.3 RESULTS .......................................................................................................... 13 2.4 CONCLUSIONS .................................................................................................. 18 CHAPTER 3: EDDY SURFACE CHARACTERISTICS AND VERTICAL STRUCTURE IN THE GULF OF MEXICO FROM SATELLITE OBSERVATIONS AND MODEL SIMULATIONS .. 25 3.1 INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................. 27 3.2 DATA AND METHODS ....................................................................................... 32 3.3 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION ............................................................................... 36 3.4 CONCLUSIONS .................................................................................................. 62 CHAPTER 4: CONCLUSIONS AND FUTURE WORK ................................................................ 77 4.1 CONCLUSIONS .................................................................................................. 78 4.2 FUTURE WORK ................................................................................................. 80 vi REFERENCES ...................................................................................................................... 83 APPENDIX A: COPYRIGHT PERMISSIONS ............................................................................ 96 A.1 PERMISSION TO REPRINT CHAPTER 2 .............................................................. 96 A.2 PERMISSION TO REPRINT CHAPTER 3 .............................................................. 97 vii LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1.1 Bathymetry in the Gulf of Mexico (m). Colored arrows represent states of the Loop Current: retracted (blue), average extended (green), and fully extended (orange) with a previously-shed LCE in the western GoM. [Le Hénaff & Kourafalou, 2016] ................................................................................................... 6 Figure 1.2 Monthly NASA’s Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP) Sea Surface Salinity (SSS) and altimetric geostrophic current streamlines for September 2018 ............ 7 Figure 2.1 ESA’s SMOS (2010-2017) and NASA’s SMAP (2015-2018) Sea Surface Salinity (SSS) averaged over the GoM ................................................................. 20 Figure 2.2 Monthly ESA’s Soil Moisture Ocean Salinity (SMOS; 2010-2014) and NASA’s Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP; 2015-2018) Sea Surface Salinity (SSS) and altimetric geostrophic current streamlines for August 2010-2018 ....................... 21 Figure 2.3 Monthly-averaged SMOS (2011; 2014) and SMAP (2015; 2017) SSS and geostrophic current streamlines (a-d), zonal (U) advective Freshwater Flux (e-h); positive values represent eastward flux, and meridional (V) advective Freshwater Flux (i-l); positive values represent northward flux, for years described by classification #1 (August 2011, 2014, 2015, and 2017). The black lines offshore (e- l) represent the 1000 m isobath ............................................................................. 22 Figure 2.4 Same as Figure 2.3, for years which fit classification #2 (SMOS 2013, SMAP 2015;16;18) ........................................................................................................... 23 Figure 2.5 August 2014 maps of (a) SMOS SSS and geostrophic current streamlines, (b) zonal (U) advective Freshwater Flux, and (c) meridional (V) advective Freshwater flux. (d) Mississippi (red) and Atchafalaya (purple)
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