Upper ocean responses to category 5 typhoon Megi in the western north Pacific

Abstract

Category 5 typhoon Megi was the most intense typhoon in 2010 of the world. It lingered in the South China Sea (SCS) for 5 d and caused a significant phytoplankton bloom detected by the satellite image. In this study, the authors investigated the ocean biological and physical responses to typhoon Megi by using chlorophyll-a (chl-a) concentration, sea surface temperature (SST), sea surface height anomaly (SSHA), sea surface wind measurements derived from different satellites and in situ data. The chl-a concentration (>3 mg/m3) increased thirty times in the SCS after the typhoon passage in comparison with the mean level of October averaged from 2002 to 2009. With the relationship of wind stress curl and upwelling, the authors found that the speed of upwelling was over ten times during typhoon than pre-typhoon period. Moreover, the mixed layer deepened about 20 m. These reveal that the enhancement of chl-a concentration was triggered by strong vertical mixing and upwelling. Along the track of typhoon, the maximum sea surface cooling (6–8°C) took place in the SCS where the moving speed of typhoon was only 1.4–2.8 m/s and the mixed layer depth was about 20 m in pre-typhoon period. However, the SST drop at the east of the Philippines is only 1–2°C where the translation speed of typhoon was 5.5–6.9 m/s and the mixed layer depth was about 40 m in pre-typhoon period. So the extent of the SST drop was probably due to the moving speed of typhoon and the depth of the mixed layer. In addition, the region with the largest decline of the sea surface height anomaly can indicate the location where the maximum cooling occurs.