Plot of sea surface temperature from cold wakes associated with tropical cyclones (blue) and associated increasing in trend in the tropical cyclone induced primary production of Chlorophyll-a concentration (red).
The trend in sea surface temperature from cold wakes associated with tropical cyclones is shown in blue. The associated increasing in trend in the tropical cyclone induced primary production of Chlorophyll-a concentration (Chla) is shown in red. Credit: Da et al. [2021], Figure 2a
Source: Geophysical Research Letters

Tropical cyclones’ strong winds are associated with ocean mixing and cold wakes. The cold water that is brought to the surface is rich in nutrients and can trigger photosynthesis that can be observed by satellites. Using satellite, Da et al. [2021] show that there are statistically significant trends in sea surface temperature cooling and primary production associated with tropical cyclones in the past 35 years. Furthermore, this tropical cyclone-induced increase in ocean primary production has partially mitigated the overall decline in primary production due to anthropogenic climate change.

Citation: Da, N. D., Foltz, G. R., & Balaguru, K. [2021]. Observed global increases in tropical cyclone-induced ocean cooling and primary production. Geophysical Research Letters, 48, e2021GL092574. https://doi.org/10.1029/2021GL092574

—Suzana Camargo, Editor, Geophysical Research Letters

Text © 2021. The authors. CC BY-NC-ND 3.0
Except where otherwise noted, images are subject to copyright. Any reuse without express permission from the copyright owner is prohibited.