Detection and Analysis of the Causes of Intensive Harmful Algal Bloom in Kamchatka Based on Satellite Data

In this paper, the causes of the anomalous harmful algal bloom which occurred in the fall of 2020 in Kamchatka have been detected and analyzed using a long-term time series of heterogeneous satellite and simulated data with respect to the sea surface height (HYCOM) and temperature (NOAA OISST), chlo...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of Marine Science and Engineering
Main Authors: Valery Bondur, Viktor Zamshin, Olga Chvertkova, Ekaterina Matrosova, Vasilisa Khodaeva
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2021
Subjects:
coastal water areas
red tide
harmful algal bloom
sea surface height
sea surface temperature
chlorophyll-a
Naval architecture. Shipbuilding. Marine engineering
VM1-989
Oceanography
GC1-1581
Avacha
Kamchatka
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.3390/jmse9101092
https://doaj.org/article/9d428955b41744288db0b4a253ada957
Description
Summary:In this paper, the causes of the anomalous harmful algal bloom which occurred in the fall of 2020 in Kamchatka have been detected and analyzed using a long-term time series of heterogeneous satellite and simulated data with respect to the sea surface height (HYCOM) and temperature (NOAA OISST), chlorophyll-a concentration (MODIS Ocean Color SMI), slick parameters (SENTINEL-1A/B), and suspended matter characteristics (SENTINEL-2A/B, C2RCC algorithm). It has been found that the harmful algal bloom was preceded by temperature anomalies (reaching 6 °C, exceeding the climatic norm by more than three standard deviation intervals) and intensive ocean level variability followed by the generation of vortices, mixing water masses and providing nutrients to the upper photic layer. The harmful algal bloom itself was manifested in an increase in the concentration of chlorophyll-a, its average monthly value for October 2020 (bloom peak) approached 15 mg/m 3 , exceeding the climatic norm almost four-fold for the region of interest (Avacha Gulf). The zones of accumulation of a large amount of biogenic surfactant films registered in radar satellite imagery correlate well with the local regions of the highest chlorophyll-a concentration. The harmful bloom was influenced by river runoff, which intensively brought mineral and biogenic suspensions into the marine environment (the concentration of total suspended matter within the plume of the Nalycheva River reached 10 mg/m 3 and more in 2020), expanding food resources for microalgae.

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