Scientific and Technical Aerospace Reports Volume 39 April 6, 2001

20010022696 NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD USA
The Correlation Between Atmospheric Dust Deposition to the Surface Ocean and SeaWiFS Ocean Color: A Global Satellite-Based
Analysis
Erickson, D. J., III, Universities Space Research Association, USA; Hernandez, J., Universities Space Research Association,
USA; Ginoux, P., GaTech, USA; Gregg, W., NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, USA; Kawa, R., GaTech, USA; Behrenfeld,
M., NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, USA; Esaias, W., NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, USA; [2000]; 1p; In English;
Fall 2000 Meeting, 15-19 Dec. 2000, San Francisco, CA, USA; Sponsored by American Geophysical Union, USA; No Copyright;
Avail: Issuing Activity; Abstract Only
Since the atmospheric deposition of iron has been linked to primary productivity in various oceanic regions, we have conducted
an objective study of the correlation of dust deposition and satellite remotely sensed surface ocean chlorophyll concentrations.
We present a global analysis of the correlation between atmospheric dust deposition derived from a satellite-based 3-D
atmospheric transport model and SeaWiFs estimates of ocean color. We use the monthly mean dust deposition fields of Ginoux
et al. which are based on a global model of dust generation and transport. This model is driven by atmospheric circulation from
the Data Assimilation Office (DAO) for the period 1995-1998. This global dust model is constrained by several satellite estimates
of standard circulation characteristics. We then perform an analysis of the correlation between the dust deposition and the 1998
SeaWIFS ocean color data for each 2.0 deg x 2.5 deg lat/long grid point, for each month of the year. The results are surprisingly
robust. The region between 40 S and 60 S has correlation coefficients from 0.6 to 0.95, statistically significant at the 0.05 level.
There are swaths of high correlation at the edges of some major ocean current systems. We interpret these correlations as reflecting
areas that have shear related turbulence bringing nitrogen and phosphorus from depth into the surface ocean, and the atmospheric
supply of iron provides the limiting nutrient and the correlation between iron deposition and surface ocean chlorophyll is high.
There is a region in the western North Pacific with high correlation, reflecting the input of Asian dust to that region. The southern
hemisphere has an average correlation coefficient of 0.72 compared that in the northern hemisphere of 0.42 consistent with present
conceptual models of where atmospheric iron deposition may play a role in surface ocean biogeochemical cycles. The spatial
structure of the correlation fields will be discussed within the context of guiding the design of field programs.
Author
Atmospheric Circulation; Deposition; Dust; Correlation; Ocean Surface
20010022746 Delaware Univ., Coll. of Marine Studies, Newark, DE USA
Fall Line Loadings of the Metals from the Potomac River Basin into Chesapeake Bay Final Report, 1996-2000
Church, T. M.; Conko, K. M.; Scudlark, J. R.; 2001; 80p; In English
Report No.(s): PB2001-102412; EPA/903/R01/003; No Copyright; Avail: National Technical Information Service (NTIS)
The Potomac River and Estuary from the second largest tidal tributary of the Chesapeake Bay, which includes at its mid-portion
the large urban and suburban Washington DC area. The Potomac River basin was sampled for trace metals near its fall line
at Chain Bridge, Washington DC, from October 1996 through August 1997, to determine its contribution to the metal loading of
Chesapeake Bay, to characterize the river loadings during various flow regimes, the river was sampled (1) routinely, at base-flow,
on monthly to bi-monthly intervals, and (2) intensively during a spring-storm, high flow event. The upper Potomac watershed
was sampled twice at nine stations within the headwaters of the basin. In Washington DC, Rock Creek tributary was sampled on
a monthly or bi-monthly interval during base-flow conditions. For comparison, the Potomac Estuary was sampled once each during
the winter and summer of 1997. The field sampling, preparation and analysis of the trace metals used ultra-clean sampling
methods. The samples were analyzed for both dissolved (is less than 0.45 u) and particulate fractions for Al, As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Fe,
Hg, Mn, Ni, Pb, Se (dissolved only), and Zn. The data are computed and compiled for (1) dissolved/particulate concentration distribution,
(2) loadings using USGS discharge data, and (3) basin yields on an area specific basis for each watershed. The concentrations
are compared to similar results from other Potomac and Chesapeake Bay tributary studies.
NTIS
Trace Contaminants; Water Pollution; Chesapeake Bay (US); Geological Surveys; Pollution Monitoring; Hydrology; Ecosystems;
Watersheds
20010023033 NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD USA
Sea Ice Variability in the Sea of Okhotsk from Passive Microwave Satellite Observations
Cavalieri, Donald J., NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, USA; [2000]; 1p; In English, 12-14 Dec. 2000, Sapporo, Japan; No
Copyright; Avail: Issuing Activity; Abstract Only
The Sea of Okhotsk, located between 50 and 60 N, is bounded by the Kamchatka Peninsula, Siberia, Sakhalin Island, and
the Kuril Island chain and is the largest midlatitude seasonal sea ice zone in the Northern Hemisphere. The winter sea ice cover
begins to form in November and expands to cover most of the sea by March. Over the following three months, the ice retreats
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