Characterizing the Variability of a Physical Driver of North Atlantic Right Whale Foraging Habitat Using Altimetric Indices
Physical ocean circulation features, especially the Gaspé Current (GC) intrusion, influence the transport and aggregation of whale prey, thereby influencing the whale foraging habitat in the Gulf of St. Lawrence (GSL), Canada. We employ satellite altimetry-derived sea level anomaly (SLA) indices to...
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Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute
2023
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Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.3390/jmse11091760 |
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ftmdpi:oai:mdpi.com:/2077-1312/11/9/1760/ 2023-10-09T21:51:15+02:00 Characterizing the Variability of a Physical Driver of North Atlantic Right Whale Foraging Habitat Using Altimetric Indices Jing Tao Hui Shen Richard E. Danielson William Perrie agris 2023-09-08 application/pdf https://doi.org/10.3390/jmse11091760 eng eng Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute Physical Oceanography https://dx.doi.org/10.3390/jmse11091760 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Journal of Marine Science and Engineering Volume 11 Issue 9 Pages: 1760 hydrodynamic circulation Gaspé current Gulf of St. Lawrence coastal altimetry North Atlantic right whale zooplankton transport Text 2023 ftmdpi https://doi.org/10.3390/jmse11091760 2023-09-10T23:55:18Z Physical ocean circulation features, especially the Gaspé Current (GC) intrusion, influence the transport and aggregation of whale prey, thereby influencing the whale foraging habitat in the Gulf of St. Lawrence (GSL), Canada. We employ satellite altimetry-derived sea level anomaly (SLA) indices to monitor interannual variations in the intensity of the GC in the North Atlantic Right Whale (Eubalaena glacialis; NARW) habitat in the GSL. Measurements of surface slope and volume transport are taken from the SLA profiles along a repeating ground track of the Jason-2/3 satellites. These are employed as complementary proxies in characterizations of physical processes in the GSL. The relationship between altimetric indices and indices of zooplankton abundance are explored in the southern GSL. Results demonstrate that an altimetric index estimated from surface slope (Indexslope−half) is correlated with river discharge of the St. Lawrence River and can be utilized to infer variations in GC intensities. Time series of the altimetric indices during 2009–2021 are found to exhibit interannual and seasonal environmental variability, which influence transport into the southern GSL. As captured by the altimetric indices, these features of the surface ocean circulation can be linked to zooplankton variations in the Shediac Valley, where NARWs are frequently observed. Therefore, in linking physical drivers of ocean dynamics to the NARW foraging habitat, variations in these indices can also potentially help describe some features of the distribution patterns of NARW sightings in this area. Text Eubalaena glacialis North Atlantic North Atlantic right whale MDPI Open Access Publishing Canada Lawrence River ENVELOPE(-115.002,-115.002,58.384,58.384) Journal of Marine Science and Engineering 11 9 1760 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
MDPI Open Access Publishing |
op_collection_id |
ftmdpi |
language |
English |
topic |
hydrodynamic circulation Gaspé current Gulf of St. Lawrence coastal altimetry North Atlantic right whale zooplankton transport |
spellingShingle |
hydrodynamic circulation Gaspé current Gulf of St. Lawrence coastal altimetry North Atlantic right whale zooplankton transport Jing Tao Hui Shen Richard E. Danielson William Perrie Characterizing the Variability of a Physical Driver of North Atlantic Right Whale Foraging Habitat Using Altimetric Indices |
topic_facet |
hydrodynamic circulation Gaspé current Gulf of St. Lawrence coastal altimetry North Atlantic right whale zooplankton transport |
description |
Physical ocean circulation features, especially the Gaspé Current (GC) intrusion, influence the transport and aggregation of whale prey, thereby influencing the whale foraging habitat in the Gulf of St. Lawrence (GSL), Canada. We employ satellite altimetry-derived sea level anomaly (SLA) indices to monitor interannual variations in the intensity of the GC in the North Atlantic Right Whale (Eubalaena glacialis; NARW) habitat in the GSL. Measurements of surface slope and volume transport are taken from the SLA profiles along a repeating ground track of the Jason-2/3 satellites. These are employed as complementary proxies in characterizations of physical processes in the GSL. The relationship between altimetric indices and indices of zooplankton abundance are explored in the southern GSL. Results demonstrate that an altimetric index estimated from surface slope (Indexslope−half) is correlated with river discharge of the St. Lawrence River and can be utilized to infer variations in GC intensities. Time series of the altimetric indices during 2009–2021 are found to exhibit interannual and seasonal environmental variability, which influence transport into the southern GSL. As captured by the altimetric indices, these features of the surface ocean circulation can be linked to zooplankton variations in the Shediac Valley, where NARWs are frequently observed. Therefore, in linking physical drivers of ocean dynamics to the NARW foraging habitat, variations in these indices can also potentially help describe some features of the distribution patterns of NARW sightings in this area. |
format |
Text |
author |
Jing Tao Hui Shen Richard E. Danielson William Perrie |
author_facet |
Jing Tao Hui Shen Richard E. Danielson William Perrie |
author_sort |
Jing Tao |
title |
Characterizing the Variability of a Physical Driver of North Atlantic Right Whale Foraging Habitat Using Altimetric Indices |
title_short |
Characterizing the Variability of a Physical Driver of North Atlantic Right Whale Foraging Habitat Using Altimetric Indices |
title_full |
Characterizing the Variability of a Physical Driver of North Atlantic Right Whale Foraging Habitat Using Altimetric Indices |
title_fullStr |
Characterizing the Variability of a Physical Driver of North Atlantic Right Whale Foraging Habitat Using Altimetric Indices |
title_full_unstemmed |
Characterizing the Variability of a Physical Driver of North Atlantic Right Whale Foraging Habitat Using Altimetric Indices |
title_sort |
characterizing the variability of a physical driver of north atlantic right whale foraging habitat using altimetric indices |
publisher |
Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute |
publishDate |
2023 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.3390/jmse11091760 |
op_coverage |
agris |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-115.002,-115.002,58.384,58.384) |
geographic |
Canada Lawrence River |
geographic_facet |
Canada Lawrence River |
genre |
Eubalaena glacialis North Atlantic North Atlantic right whale |
genre_facet |
Eubalaena glacialis North Atlantic North Atlantic right whale |
op_source |
Journal of Marine Science and Engineering Volume 11 Issue 9 Pages: 1760 |
op_relation |
Physical Oceanography https://dx.doi.org/10.3390/jmse11091760 |
op_rights |
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.3390/jmse11091760 |
container_title |
Journal of Marine Science and Engineering |
container_volume |
11 |
container_issue |
9 |
container_start_page |
1760 |
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1779314359160274944 |