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Volume 8, Issue 9 (Suppl)
J Earth Sci Clim Change
ISSN: 2157-7617 JESCC, an open access journal
Climate Congress 2017
October 16-17, 2017
October 16-17, 2017 Dubai, UAE
3
rd
World Congress on
Climate Change and Global Warming
Atmospheric anomalies, mesoscale eddies and algal blooms in Arabian waters
Sergey A Piontkovski
Sultan Qaboos University, Oman
S
helf waters of Oman and other countries around the Gulf and the northwestern Arabian Sea are subjected to periodic
algal blooms which led to huge economic losses because of their impact on fisheries, desalination plants and recreational
activities. Remotely sensed and directly sampled seasonal algal blooms of the Gulf and the western Arabian Sea were analyzed
with regard to seasonal and inter-annual changes of spatial-temporal characteristics of mesoscale (cyclonic and anticyclonic)
eddies observed in both regions. Satellite derived (4 to 9-km spatial resolution MODIS Aqua and VIRS) daily Level-3 data for
the sea surface heights, sea surface temperature and chlorophyll-a concentration were used to retrieve weekly time series of
parameters and images of their spatial distribution covering 16 years (2000-2016). Data on phytoplankton taxonomy came from
the sampling carried out on board research vessels (including ships of opportunity). In the Gulf of Oman and the northwestern
Arabian Sea, the dinoflagellate algae
Noctiluca scintillans
dominated the biomass of phytoplankton during winter blooms. The
location of chlorophyll-a maxima was associated with centers of cyclonic and peripheries of anticyclonic eddies which had the
size of 100-200km. Both exhibited a bimodal seasonal pattern of their occurrence. In terms of eddy footprints at sea surface,
positive and negative sea surface height anomalies matching the range of 10-20 cm were the most numerous. The frequency of
eddy occurrence and algal blooms exhibited inter-annual variations. The relationship between atmospheric anomalies (in the
form of El-Niňo Southern Oscillation and Indian Ocean Dipole), eddies and algal blooms is discussed.
Biography
Sergey A Piontkovski is currently an Associate Professor, Department of Marine Science and Fisheries, Sultan Qaboos University. He is the author and co-author
of 60 peer-reviewed research papers, 3 books, 8 book chapters and 50 conference presentations. His research interests have ranged from physical oceanography
to marine ecology and mesoscale physical-biological interactions. His recent research studies have focused on climate-related variability of physical, chemical and
biological characteristics of the Arabian Sea.
spiontkovski@gmail.comSergey A Piontkovski, J Earth Sci Clim Change 2017, 8:9 (Suppl)
DOI: 10.4172/2157-7617-C1-033