Identifying Metocean Drivers of Turbidity Using 18 Years of MODIS Satellite Data: Implications for Marine Ecosystems under Climate Change

Turbidity impacts the growth and productivity of marine benthic habitats due to light limitation. Daily/monthly synoptic and tidal influences often drive turbidity fluctuations, however, our understanding of what drives turbidity across seasonal/interannual timescales is often limited, thus impeding...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Remote sensing (Basel, Switzerland) Switzerland), 2021-09, Vol.13 (18), p.3616
Main Authors: Cartwright, Paula J., Fearns, Peter R. C. S., Branson, Paul, Cuttler, Michael V. W., O’Leary, Michael, Browne, Nicola K., Lowe, Ryan J.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Aquatic habitats
Aridity
Biodiversity
Climate change
Coasts
Cyclones
Dipoles
Ecosystems
El Nino
ENSO
Environmental impact
Global climate
Hydrology
Influence
IOD
Marine ecosystems
metocean processes
MODIS
MODIS-aqua
Regions
Remote sensing
Satellites
Sediments
Southern Oscillation
Time series
Turbidity
Water quality
Weather
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Summary:Turbidity impacts the growth and productivity of marine benthic habitats due to light limitation. Daily/monthly synoptic and tidal influences often drive turbidity fluctuations, however, our understanding of what drives turbidity across seasonal/interannual timescales is often limited, thus impeding our ability to forecast climate change impacts to ecologically significant habitats. Here, we analysed long term (18-year) MODIS-aqua data to derive turbidity and the associated meteorological and oceanographic (metocean) processes in an arid tropical embayment (Exmouth Gulf in Western Australia) within the eastern Indian Ocean. We found turbidity was associated with El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) cycles as well as Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD) events. Winds from the adjacent terrestrial region were also associated with turbidity and an upward trend in turbidity was evident in the body of the gulf over the 18 years. Our results identify hydrological processes that could be affected by global climate cycles undergoing change and reveal opportunities for managers to reduce impacts to ecologically important ecosystems.
ISSN:2072-4292
2072-4292
DOI:10.3390/rs13183616